Jasmine1
by Pritam
Summary: An account of Titanic from the spiritual angle
1. Default Chapter

My name is Jasmine. I was on board the wonderful ship The Titanic. What a wonderful ship it was, I tell you! Anyway, I saw a very lovely young woman standing behind the ship. She looked pretty as a picture, and she must not have been any more than the age of 18. I loved her clothes, what the fine Victorian dress. But I looked at her face, and I surmised that all was not well with her. I could see on her face that she was, interminably, trapped by some cage, since I have known all about cages for my entire life, and for centuries, I could sympathise with her. I could see the unhappiness written plain as day on her face, and it, clearly, expressed to me that she was, just, longing to escape from the trap, she was just crying to get out of her life. I closed my eyes, and suddenly, a premonition came to me that she was in a place, in a class, an echelon that she did not belong in. She should be frolicking around in the open country side, and having fun, or at least, more fun than I ever would in my life.  
  
I closed my eyes, raised my head, and sighed, as I rehearsed, in my mind, what I would tell her, were I to get a free moment with her. I picture her at the hull of the ship, her golden reddish hair flying freely with the wind, and with such a robust and exuberant spirit that only God could describe. Her face is pointed towards mine, and she is leaning towards the hull, with an intensity written all across her face, as she is, intently, listening to what I am saying. "Rose," I tell her, and I shake with shock, because I had no idea her name was Rose, "my name is Jasmine, I, too am trapped. I have sensed that you don't belong where you are from the moment I saw you. You could not see me, but I could see you, and I could see your soul, and I could see and sense that you were, interminably, trapped in your life. I saw you next to your future husband, I guess, and let me tell you, you had such a look of unhappiness and despair on your face that you looked as though you wished to vomit. I have rarely seen such an expression on a young damsel's face. You must escape from your life, because that is the only way you will find true happiness. I saw from your clothes that you are trapped in your life, my god, to me, your dress became a strait jacket, I mean, I have never seen such a thing in my life before." I see from your spirit and body that you were meant to travel with the wind, go take my blessing, and take God's blessing, and find yourself."  
  
I look down, and am startled when I hear the whistle from the ship. I swear, that noise always rattles my nerves. I see all of them, including her husband, who boards the ship with her, and an elder woman, who I surmise to be her mother board the ship. Simultaneously, a chill wind blows my direction and envelops me with a strange chill. It is not just any chill I feel, but the ominous chill that something terrible is about to happen on this ship. But then I feel warmth in that wind, which signals to me that the ending will not be entirely tragic, and it will be beneficial to both me and her, especially.  
  
I smile to myself with optimism, because, though I have never met her, I would love to meet her, because, something deep down inside tells me that my faith is intertwined with hers. In any case, premonition tells me that, somehow, there is more than one life, emotional, and spiritual parallel between her and me. I begin to get the feeling that fate has thrown us together to meet each other, and to touch and change each others' lives forever. Oh boy, I think to myself, as I head for the lower deck, 'I can hardly wait to meet this lovely lady, that intuition has told me her name is Rose signifies to me that she must be special in some way.' 


	2. Jasmine2

Ch II Jasmine's Observation of Rose  
  
It was upon sweeping the deck that I saw the beautiful Rose walk by me, and let me tell you, she did make quite a picture. She was dressed up in a very fine, satin pink dress, with a red, satin sash around the waist. Sometimes, I wish I could wear such clothes and live a life of leisure. I noticed by looking at her hands, that she has never had to do any hard labour in her life. What a lucky lady! I am really happy that she is very fortunate! She was walking by with an older man, they were not holding hands, and he appeared to be more interested in her than she in him. I mean, by observing her mannerisms and behaviour and actions around the man, I would swear that she did not really love the man, and that she did not really want to be with him. I guess, somehow, she must have been coerced (however mildly, and subtly) to be with him. My guess, since I have observed the behaviour of so many upper class people before, is that she is engaged to be married to her.  
  
Any way, the man was, I guess, in his late twenties, or early thirties. He reminds me of one of the heirs of a very wealthy estate, as well as a very prosperous business. One look at him, and I surmised that he belonged to one of the "captains of industry", one of the noveau bourgeoise who made his fortunes by building up America's industry in the late 19th century and in the early 20th century. He was a very tall man, and I was impressed by his tailored black clothes, they were very fine and aristocratic in nature. I noticed that there was not a button loose on his fine black jacket, and that his trousers were perfectly, neatly, and smartly ironed. Since I have the ability to transcend the centuries, and I have the ability to travel in time, because I am spiritual in nature, I have been to the 20th century, and I have seen the Giorgio Armani suits that sell in the fine department stores. When I saw this young man's clothes, I was, immediately, reminded of Giorgio Armani. This young man was quite confident in his demeanour, and quite arrogant as well, I mean, he literally, almost walked right over me, and he gave me a look that told me that, as far as he was concerned, I was quite insignificant and unimportant as a human being. I suppose that this is because I am a "lower class person who sweeps the ship.", and I suppose that this is partly because I am darker in skin colour. Well, I have always felt that you can't judge a book by his cover, and I know that you don't really know someone by the type of job that they perform, or the social class that they belong to. I mean, I have seen some very intelligent, refined, genteel, and aristocratic people come from the lower classes, and I have seen some people who were very spoiled, had no class or grace, and thought that their status and wealth made them "above the law", and gave them the license to flaunt the law egregariously, and to do whatever they pleased regardless of who got hurt, come from the upper social classes. But, since I do believe in treating everyone with decency and respect, and I do believe in acting with manners and grace, I smile at him, look at him with an amicable look in the eye, and say, "Sir, please, will you let me mop the floor." I had a hard time making out his garbled talk, but I think he was saying, "watch where you are going you clumsy wench!" Others might have gotten offended, but I know that, if I don't like how I'm being treated in a particular epoch of time, I can always escape to another epoch of time. Sometimes, I can even escape into other dimensions. This is the reason why I don't get irked by his comments.  
  
His fiancé, however, was much more polite, and genteel in nature, she pulled on her fiancée's arm and said, "Cal, please, be polite, this girl was just trying to do her job." Then, she extended her arm to me, and said, "please forgive him, my name is Rose, I am sorry we bumped into you." I look at her and say, "Appology accepted." I notice that Cal is quite upset that Rose is conversing with the help. But for the time being, I am struck by her beauty. Her dress catches the glow and gleam from the Sun beams, and it brings out a very pretty pink hue in her dress that serves to enhance the natural pink hue in her cheeks. Some people may need blush, but she is not one of them. I also notice that her golden red hair shines in the Sun, and reminds me of golden honey. It is a sight I will never forget. I look at her face, and I notice that she had perfect complexion, I mean, her face reminds me of a doll's face, it is so beautiful and perfect. I note that her lips are a healthy shade of reddish peach, and they accentuate her face even more, and make her pretty features stand out. I notice that her free flying hair looks almost celestial in nature, and as she is standing behind the Sun, I note that her hair frames her face, and shines in such a way to make her look as though she were an angel. I don't get more than a few seconds glimpse at me, but that is enough to record the contours of her face and body, as well as her complexion and her looks in the register of my mind forever. Immediately, Cal gives Rose a look that says, "Let's go now, and then we NEED to talk." Then jerks on her arm and says, "LET'S GO." He, hurriedly, walks away from me, nearly ignoring me in the process. I sigh, because, for most of my multi-millenia long life, I have been ignored. I have to admit that I am looking to escape from my present lot, and I am wondering if the key to that lies in befriending Rose. I smile to myself, as I make a note that, for all of Cal's money, he doesn't have the spiritual grace, the confidence, or the physical, mental, and emotional beauty and balance that Rose has. 


	3. Jasmine3

CH 3  
  
Well, at that moment, Cal pulled Rose to the side and talked to her. But I was quite disturbed by the way he talked to her. I was cleaning the deck, and the door to the room in which he was conversing with her was partially ajar, so I could hear everything he was telling her. I smile to myself as I reflect on a thought that has flown in to my mind. If I were to walk into that room, and start cleaning the floor, Cal would ignore me, and continue his conversation with Rose. I know that the upper classes don't consider people like me to be significant or intelligent because of the perceived social class that I occupy, and because of the colour of my skin. I wince because thinking about this has made my mind flash back all of the memories of the encounters of inequalities that I have encountered over the centuries. The pain hurts as bad now as it did then, sometimes, it hurts even more now, because my soul is waking up, from many millennia of slumber, and is, finally, understanding what these memories mean, and how they impacted my life. By perusing through flashbacks that my neurotransmitters emit to the emotional sensors in my brain for interpretation, in much the same way that servers will submit information to client computers for interpretation, I have been able to gain a much richer understanding of the problems that have plagued me for lifetimes. It is at this point in time that I feel a rude jolt, and I can sense a powerful force, perhaps in me, perhaps not, telling me, somehow , that Rose faces many of the same problems that I do. All of the sudden, I have a strong urge to reach out to Rose and touch her soul, and have long and deep conversations with her so that I could help to "uncage" her. My mind is accosted with millions of thoughts, some finished and coherent, and others not, that tell me to butt into the room, and console Rose, but I feel the psychological constraints that society has placed me by way of the colour of my skin, and the social class that I occupy, and I decide not to. I groan, silently, to myself in frustration, because such barriers are artificial, and it would not take much effort to undermine these barriers, but I am not able to do it, because I am in a subordinate position myself. But all of a sudden, my soul utters the word, "ROSE" to me, and in an instant, my face zips over to her, and I focus all of my attention on her. I enter into an altered state of mind, and instead of seeing a meek and shy Rose, I see a very empowered woman, one who reminds me of the Greek Goddess Electra, who is holding a staff and a sword, and whose eyes blaze with fiery fire. In my vision, Rose's hair burns with a fire of passion that is so bright that it almost blinds me. I can see now, that far from being meek and docile, Rose is a very strong and passionate woman who believes in certain things (that God does) and will pursue matters of the heart. I smile to myself and think, silently, 'I must meet her, she is my type of woman.'  
  
Anyway, I was quite appalled at the way Cal was talking to Rose. He was shouting at her, and I was quite offended at some of the things he was saying about me. I mean, I may be a washerwoman, but that does NOT mean that I am NOT human! He began his conversation by saying, "Rose, I DON'T LIKE IT WHEN YOU TALK TO THE HELP, YOU ARE A FINE WOMAN OF POSTURE, AND SUCH PEOPLE ARE BELOW YOU, IT MAKES ME WANT TO VOMIT TO SEE YOU ASSOCIATE WITH SUCH A LOW WOMAN!" "My God," I think to myself, "he could wake the dead with that voice." Rose protested, "but Cal, I mean, she was a very nice woman, and I think she could be very friendly." Then, in a voice that made even my bones cringe, Cal responded, "ROSE, YOU DON'T SEEM TO BE UNDERSTANDING ME, YOU STUPID WOMAN, WHEN I SAY DON'T TALK TO HER, I MEAN DON'T TALK TO HER. YOU ARE MINE, AND YOU MUST DO AS I SAY." I was quite shocked to see what happened next. Cal produced his left hand, of all hands, and slapped Rose across her beautiful right cheek so hard she fell. It was at this point in time that I felt for Rose, suddenly, I could feel her pain and misery, and I so longed to comfort her, or, at least to offer her some tea, but, alas I could do none of that. I thought back to the Electra goddess I had seen, and I JUST KNEW, that I could liberate Rose, but I had no idea as to how to do so. I KNEW I would NEED help from someone else to do this, but from "WHOM" I wondered. As for the way Cal slapped Rose, I could feel myself seething with rage at the sight, I mean, I have seen livestock get treated better than the way he treated her. Well, there was one 'innocent way' to get back at Cal. My bucket was full of soapy water, so I spilled it on the floor, after Rose had walked out of the room, but not after Cal had walked out. He slipped, and clutched onto the railing for dear life. Then he turned to me, and with a murderous look in his eye he said, " watch where you aim you cleaning supplies you stupid worthless brown sahib. Your skin colour reflects your low IQ." I smiled to myself internally, because I knew that this was not true. I looked at him quite innocently in the eye, and said with a thick Indian accent, "My dear gora sahib, it was an accident." I watched as Cal whisked a very unwilling Rose away on his arm, and muttered, under his breath, something about how I needed a thrashing. I smile to myself, because I know that there is nothing that he can do to 'punish me' however much he would like to.  
  
As they walk away, I lean my chin on my mop handle, and I think about Cal for a minute. I meditate so that I can learn more about my soul. All of a sudden, I am looking into a dimly lit room, and I see Cal with his jacket off. He is hoarding over ALL of his money, saying, "money is better than honey, for me it is everything. I base everything off of money. Marriage, love, well what is love, who needs love when you have the wonderful green backs. Oh I love Uncle Sam! By GOD I THINK COLONIALISM IS A GOOD THING, I MEAN IT HELPS US BOSS OTHERS AROUND IN THE WORLD, AND IT HELPS US SHOW THEM WHO IS BETTER! I mean we ARE superior, and WE CREATED THE WORLD!" Then, he gets up and starts to dance around the room, singing, "Money is everything to me, when I am happy I have money, when I am sad I have money, but I want more, MORE, MORE. I mean it doesn't matter if anyone gets hurt.." And I cringe as I see him looking squarely at the eyes of my soul with the evilest look that I have ever seen, and that evil look emanates straight from his eyes, it is as though the Devil himself, is looking straight at me. He continues his conversation as I am looking into his soul in my meditations, he says, "I build myself up by stepping on others, I mean life's a game, and who ever has the most toys WINS! There is no such thing as an afterlife, there is just this life, and I am going to gun everyone out. As for love, what's that, you do everything for personal gain, I mean others don't matter, and the only thing that they're good for is to be used as a pedestal for you to put your foot on to get what you want. Once you have gotten what you want, you simply knock them down with your foot, I mean people don't matter but power does, and you can do amazing things with power and money. The best dictators also had the most power, and they were the most influential in history. All of that stuff that people tell you about that being nice is a nice virtue is crap, the only thing that matters is power and money, and once you have that, everything else comes to you. IF you have a big stick, you can use it to brow beat everyone else with it and make them pay LIBATIONS TO YOU!" But at the same time, as I meditate, I see Cal as a little boy, and he is huddling in a corner, he is afraid of the world. He is very cold, and is shivering, I look closer, and I see discernible globules of ice on his clothes. He is on the verge of crying, and he says in a very soft, meek voice, "I'm all alone, and no one will listen to me, I'm scared, please GOD help me." I shake myself out of my meditative state, 'wait a minute, ' I think to myself, 'DID HE SAY GOD.' Suddenly various chills of realization shake my body as I realize, that in spite of his tough and callous exterior, there is a part of him that believed in good, and there, probably, still is a part of him that does. I shake my head in sheer disbelief. 


	4. Jasmine4

Chapter 4  
  
I can see it clearly now, it was towards the evening hours of a late autumn day, I remember how I used to love to clean the deck on those days, when the Sun was half-mast in the sky, and it bathed the land with its light, giving it an ethereal glow. As usual, I put my mop into my bucket of soap suds, and proceeded to clean. I stopped, to give my poor back a break, and suddenly, my eye caught the golden gleam that reflected off a white wall from a room with the door fully open. Curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to enter into the room. I walked into the room, and suddenly, was stopped straight in my tracks, it was as though a strange spirit had suddenly stopped me. I was paralyzed by a rush of strange feelings. I could feel the chemical rush of many chemicals that signal confusion and consternation to the neuro-transmitters in the brain in my brain and body. I was not scared, just very shocked and amazed. I could feel the juice of amazement rush all through out my body, it pulsated through every artery and vein in my body, and felt as though an electrical charge, that emanated from a divine power, was running through my body. The effect of this was to give my body and brain a new ability to see and sense the world. I have traversed the centuries, and in the 20th and, especially in the 21st century, many doctors and scientists would call such ability an "altered state of mind." However, these experts attribute such a changed state entirely to meditation. I was feeling this without meditation. I was situated in the center of the room, and my gaze aimed straight ahead, straight into Rose's eyes. I was stunned, because they burned with a yellowish flame, as though some sort of (ancient?) eternal fire was burning in her eyes. In my own experience, I have seen such a look in the in the eyes of evil beings, however, I know that Rose can not be evil. I feel somewhat frightened to see such a powerful force in a mortal being, however, my feet lie firmly planted on the ground, and I am incapable of moving.  
  
Rose looks at me with such intensity in her eyes, that if fire truly did burn in her eyes, it would have burned me to a crisp. She tells me in a very bold voice, "Do sit down, Jasmine." That voice is so forceful, and I have only heard it come from powerful female spiritual forces, not from a mortal. However, her voice invokes the familiar response to authority, and I sit down. She continues, "I left the door open on purpose. I have noted your course of work, and I knew you would be at your daily tasks near my quarters right now. I wanted you to come in. From the moment I met you on the deck, I realized that you are a spiritual force that emanates from God, so too am I. Like you, I am trapped in my life." Shock floods my body, and a sense of panic floods my heart, suddenly, I feel the world spin around me, and I feel quite nauseous, I say, in a very weak voice, "Rose, how did you know about me, I never told you." She responds, "You did not need to, I knew, you see, I am a very powerful spiritual force that lives in Rose, just as Jasmine lives in you, We must unite and we must come together to liberate ourselves from our present cages." She looks into my eyes, and sees the helplessness and the meekness that is suddenly flooding them, she realizes that my soul is being flooded by uncertainty and weakness. She continues, "there is no need to panic or be afraid. You see, I, too am a soul who sees, I get premonitions, as you do, and I, too am capable of intense meditations, as you are. I can see things beyond the horizon, things that mortal humans are not capable of. I must get to know you. Perhaps there are ways that you could help me. Cal doesn't know about me, I remain hidden all of the time. He thinks Rose is a very modest and amicable and docile girl." She raises her head and laughs a very powerful laugh, so powerful it could wake spirits, both good and evil, "if ONLY he knew. By now, you probably know that Cal is an evil force, he is not capable of feeling any good." I open my mouth to protest, but she interjects, "yes, you probably had the vision in which you saw him as a very confused and hurt boy, but make no mistake, that was an illusion and nothing but, it is meant to hoodwink good souls, and to convince them that there is some good in him, when in fact, there is NONE! He is a hand maiden of evil if I ever saw one. There is no saving him, attempts to save him would just destroy the essence of a good soul. What I and you must do is try to escape from him. His powers are immense, and they are growing by the day. If nothing is done, Rose will be trapped forever in her life. If Cal knew about me." She laughs a very sarcastic laugh that is full of bitterness, "he would surely kill me. For him, life is a game of amassing things, be they money, power,' then she leans in towards me, and her eyes grow big as she says, with the word souls emphasized, "souls, nothing will escape from his clutches. The world revolves around him and no one else. He is the eternal God, the Eternal Sun, so to speak, that the world must bow to. In his realm, the world was meant to serve HIM and HIM alone! He does not realize that God and other spiritual forces may have another agenda on the table that conflicts with his, because he is only capable of seeing the world through his eyes. Luckily, it is that narrow vision that prevents him from seeing the spiritual force that resides in Rose, and from seeing who Rose REALLY is. But, you can see the real Rose, because you are not him, thank God!" I notice that she says the words 'thank God' with a sigh of relief. She finishes her thought process, "you see, living with Cal has been a real torture process on my part, sometimes, I get so miserable and lost that I don't know how I'll get through the day." I notice that she sighs, and points her head towards the window, and looks at the window with a far off look in her eyes, as she continues, in a very soft tone, "sometimes, I feel so miserable, I want to kill myself. I think to myself, 'anything would be better than this, because this feels like hell.' The pain that Rose feels is so strong that I feel it, HER PAIN HAS BECOME MY PAIN." I immediately nod my head in understanding, because I know exactly what she means, in that way, Prita's pain, and her trials and tribulations have become my pain and trials and tribulations, and her joy has become mine. In some spiritual way, though I am a very strong spiritual force whose knowledge, life, and abilities transcend the centuries, I have become bonded with her. Well, Rose continues, "You'd best go now, Cal would throw a fit if he saw you here." I walk out of the room, and I see the blazing glow disappear from Rose's eyes and be replaced with a very docile and gentle human look. Her demeanour and composure changes from a very electrified state, to a quite sedated and normal state. I shake my head, as I marvel as to how fast the spiritual changes can take place, you wink your eye, and a person has changed from a spirit into a mortal being, I guess only God could explain such a sudden change.  
  
I walk out of the room, and I notice that my pail is low on water, so I cart it away from the lower deck, and take it towards the soaping room, where I can fill it up with more soap and water. I notice that no water is spilled as I drag my pail away, "strange," I think to myself, "this defies some laws of science and common sense, it I did not know any better, I would swear that this was being caused by some higher power in the attempt to protect me from impending evil." I make my way up to the soaping room, however, curiosity besets me, so I meditate on the room that Rose is in, so that I can see what is going on at this moment. I see that Cal has walked into the room. And he moves towards Rose. I can sense the spiritual aura that his soul projects, and it is one of a very jealous and controlling, and evil soul. He views Rose as mere property, actually, he views Rose as a pawn to be used in his game towards greatness. He thinks only of himself, and he would not hesitate to kill Rose for his personal gain. I begin to see that the spirit that was talking through Rose was correct when it said that Cal is a truly evil soul that is not capable of being turned around, now or ever. There is a soul in him that is quite intelligent, and is capable of great deception, that is for sure. I suppose that spirit is beginning to suspect that something is going on, that somehow, Rose may be waking up on a spiritual level, and may be discovering who she really is, because he says, "did that washer woman come in here again?" Rose replies, in a very gentle voice, "No Cal, I was alone by myself this afternoon." Cal said, "I don't trust you." Then he looks outside for the water marks, he says, "if she was here, I would be able to see water marks here." He looks outside and he sees none. Then, it appears as though a shroud of ignorance ascends over him, and he forgets (at least momentarily) about Jasmine. He says, "well, I'm glad to see that you were behaving yourself today, carry on."  
  
I smile to myself in relief that Cal has not caught on yet. But, I am beginning to realize that Cal is not fit to be Rose's soul mate, perhaps, there is someone else on the horizon. I close my eyes and meditate, and all of a sudden, strong vibrations of knowledge and premonition begin to shake my body. All of a sudden, I see the outline of a very homely and handsome man, who comes from the lower echelon of society, the place where everyone, including Rose, is destined to be by God's wishes. This man is a very humble and modest youngster, who shows Rose that the true path to happiness is to let your soul go free, go towards the way of God, and let God determine your true path and destiny in life. He also shows Rose true love, and helps to empower the spirit in herself. I smile when I see myself doing that as well, and I smile when I see that I and him will meet. I hear the wind whisper "Jack", and I realize that his name is Jack. I chuckle, because Jack was the name of a strong Celtic spiritual force which brought happiness to people. 'I would love to meet Jack' I think to myself. He must be a very strong and loving force, if he is to really show Rose the true path to happiness. He must also be a very spiritual and strong man, who, deep down inside knows that, sometimes, the way to finding true love and happiness for yourself, and the way to God is to sacrifice your soul on behalf of someone else, to give up your soul to the heavens so that someone else can enjoy happiness. Cal would never do this, but I know that angels would gladly do this. Perhaps Jack is a guardian angel! 


	5. Jasmine5

Chapter 5  
  
I lay down in my bunk bed on the third level of The Titanic, I am a night person, and it is eight o'clock at night, so sleep is not coming my way yet, so I meditate in the hopes that I will, eventually, fall asleep by that venue. I close my eyes and go deep into the back of my mind, and my soul in deep thought, I can feel and hear my breathing becoming very deep and regularized, I also feel my mood and brain chemistry changing. Later in the 20th century and in the 21st century, meditation and its power and effects on the mind and body would catch the attention of scientists, and they would call the changed effect it brings on the mind, body, and soul an "altered state of mind", but I know it is one way for humans to tap into their spiritual self, and to enter the spirit world, which is the realm of God.  
  
My mind gravitates towards Rose's room, how is she doing? I wonder. I see her sitting down in front of her dressing table. She is wearing a pearly- white dress, and her face glows with such life it reminds me of fine porcelain. I see that her hair glows quite radiantly against the soft lights of kerosene lamps. She is staring in the mirror, getting ready for the night, which will probably consists of dinner parties. Not that I really care for dinner parties, I ascribe to a very humble and simple life, but I would just LOVE to attend such a party, just once! But, my social position will not allow that, I mean, her birth has relegated her to an upper-class life, and my birth has relegated me to serve those people. I see Rose become very startled as Cal walks into the room. I note that there is absolutely no emotion on his face, I see that he doesn't even recognize her as being a normal human being. For him the world is totally rational, and can be summed up in a black and white way of analysis. That is, some people are naturally destined to inhabit certain classes in life because of their birth, and some people are naturally destined to serve them. From his stand point, the white people are naturally destined to be the ruling elite, and the darker people, like me, are naturally destined to serve them. However, only some white people are destined to rule, and they are those with money. For him, people with money and status are the only ones who count, others, no matter how decent people they may be don't count, and deserve to be stepped on and used. I breathe a sigh of relief that Rose does not subscribe to this narrow mind-set. I see through the look that Cal gives Rose through his cold and hard calculating eyes that he sees the world in a zero sum game, for him, his fiancée is nothing but property, a pawn to be used in his game of conquest. That she is young and pretty makes her, from his standpoint, a token wife, something to show off to his colleagues. I see a very intense fire burning in his eyes, this fire is, unmistakably, the fire of evil and hatred, Cal is a man who can see no emotion or colour in life, whatsoever. He walks straight up to her, and his mannerisms clearly indicate to me that, for him, she has no rights, and she is free for him to breach and use in any which way, that is because she is HIS, therefore, she doesn't have the right to feel or think as a normal human does, for him, she should be more concerned about her place in society, and about how that place and her actions will affect him. From his standpoint, that is the only thing that matters, she has a right to exist, as long as her existence will help him gain even greater glory, fame, power, and riches. I wake up with a jolt from my meditations because this bothers me, I am greatly bothered to discover that Rose is about to be thrust into such a situation. I am gaining the impression that she has been thrust into this situation by circumstances that she can't control. She doesn't identify with such a social class, or such values at all, and she is, desperately, pining to escape from her situation. I am also disturbed to discover that Cal intends to treat her as sheer property, and expects to live up to expectations and present an image that I know she can't present, or live up to. I see now, that it is imperative that I try to help her, and, I know, that in the process, I will be helping myself.  
  
Anyway, I go back to my meditations. I see Cal forcefully lowering a huge necklace that is composed of large, white diamonds, and has a huge blue diamond at the center. I wince in pain because I wonder if these diamonds have been procured from the mines of India. Cal tells Rose, "This was the wedding present that King Louis XIV gave his wife, the diamond in the middle is the hope diamond." I contort in pain, because I know that he Hope diamond is, originally, from India. Rose looks at Cal in sheer confusion, as though she has been given something that she doesn't understand or identify with, for her, it is just a nice necklace, and nothing else. She takes the necklace from his hand, and says, "alright." Then I see him walking out of the room.  
  
When Cal has completely exited the room, Rose looks at the necklace in curiosity, and then she puts it on her neck. When I see the necklace in the mirror, I am blinded by its amazing power. I mean all of the diamonds catch the light in the room, and they reflect the sparkle 100 fold, until all I see are thousands of little sparkles dancing which ever way in the mirror, the blue diamond gives off a very serene and calming glow in the mirror. When I look at her in the mirror, I see a queen wearing a necklace that appears to glow with some sort of strange magic. She doesn't look like a normal person, rather, she looks like some sort of character from a fairy tale, wearing a necklace that has supernatural powers. The necklace itself doesn't look as though it's composed of gems, rather it looks like it is made out of some intense, supernatural white light that glows with its own character and form. I may have lived for thousands of years and in many worlds, but this is the first time I have seen something like this. I surmise, by seeing this, that the necklace must be cursed.  
  
It is morning, and I wake up. Just as I have finished getting dressed, my superior comes to me. "Jasmine," he says, "I want you to tidy up affairs in Rose DeWitt-Bukater's room." I respond, "Allright." But, secretly, my heart is freezing, I mean, I know that I am on Cal's hit list, and I know that he would like to do away with me, because he does NOT want Rose to associate with me. Sometimes, I wish my boss would tell me about things like this in advance so that I could best prep my self spiritually for them. Well, I am a spirit, and therefore, I know how to take care of myself, and I have seen danger before, so I put on my fearless face, and I head towards Rose's room.  
  
I suppose Rose had been waiting for me, because she says quite cheerfully, "Hello, please tell me what your name is." "It's Jasmine," I say in a rushed tone underneath my breath. "You know," Rose says, "I wanted to chit- chat with you, so I asked my maid servant, your boss to order you to come here." I sigh in frustration, and I swallow a hard lump that has formed in my throat. I give Rose a hard look, I don't think she realizes the imminent danger she is putting herself and me in by doing this, I mean, I could get into serious trouble and so could she if Cal, or anyone else from the upper classes sees us together. For them, it won't matter that my boss ordered me to come into her room, for them, I will be an indolent pest who is getting into affairs that don't concern her, and for this reason, I should be done away with. Rose doesn't seem to realize that this is not a game. I say, "well, tell me what needs to be cleaned up." Rose says cheerfully, "nothing." I give her a quizzical look, "well, why would you want me to come down if you didn't need my help?" I ask her. Rose said in a very playful voice, "I want you to see something." Curiosity gets the best of me, so I come closer. But before I do so, I notice that Rose is a very carefree girl, who is spoiled. She has been waited on hand and foot for all of her life, so she takes everything for granted. She is a carefree and happy go lucky girl who thinks with her heart and soul, and not with her head. For her the world is permanent and she will always be taken care of. She has always had money and comfort, and so she is not capable of understanding a world where that doesn't exist. Oh! When the Arabian Shaenshahs had over ran Sindh province, first in A.D. 792, and then in A.D. 795 and had ordered all infidels to convert to Islam on the sword, I WISHED I HAD HAD THAT LUXURY. Our conversion to Islam still did not save us from slavery. My mind jumps even further, to the 650's A.D. when the new religion of Ibn Muhammed (Prophet Muhammed) was all the craze in Assyria, and the caliphs were compelling everyone to convert to the 'Light that was Allah'. These caliphs were even going so far as to confiscate the property of infidels and to enslave them. Strange, my family did convert, but we were still pauperized and enslaved, and Allah did not come to our rescue. But, such stories would make little impression on Rose, her response would be, "well, why don't you just leave with your servants?" Well, when you are a servant, and you are starving, and you are kept under constant watch by guards and by a rigid system, it is very difficult to leave. I think about Rose, and I am beginning to realize that, for her, life is a game. She doesn't understand that there are steadfast rules to life, she just wants to live for the moment and to have fun. I mean there is nothing wrong with that, but I have been in so many situations where I have had to be grown up at such a young age, I couldn't live life the way she does, I'd be dead if I did. She also is used to everything being given to her, and she just assumes that because things are this way one day, they are going to stay that way. She assumes that since she is rich now, she will always be rich. But I've seen cases where wealth disappeared overnight, and people were forced to beg. She is not capable of seeing life in the tough reality that many of those who live by hard labour do, because she has never had to live on the edge of life, or had to fight for anything. I admire her for this, I really think she is a lucky girl.  
  
I feel a box in my dress pocket, and I produce it out of my pocket, and I notice that it is a box that contains a necklace. I open it, and I see a very beautiful, but thin necklace, that is composed of 24 kt gold beads and coral beads, strung in the order of gold bead and then coral, and then gold bead. I lift the necklace out of the box, and I note that the gold produces a magical reflection on the bottom of the box. Rose gasps, and says, "what is that." "Well," I tell her, "In 1299 A.D. I visited Delhi, it was and still is the capital of India. Back then, Hindu princes ruled the region, and I used to frequent an old artisan who would make beautiful jewelry. I came from a poor family, so I used to serve as housemaid for him, and in return, he would gift me with jewelry that he would make for sale. He gave me this for my birthday. On the eve that he gave me this, Turkic warrior men and Tamerlane (Gengis Khan's grandson) burst into the city, sacked it, and took all of the skilled artisans, including him, to Tashkent (a city in Central Asia) to work on their minarets. However, this necklace served as a continual reminder of him for me." Rose said, "can I wear it?" "Well," I say, "It's very simple, but allright." I take the necklace out of the box, and put it on her neck, and I notice that the hook clasp slides right in. I hear a very soft click when I clasp the necklace on her neck, and I sense that something magical has happened in the spiritual realm.  
  
I look in the mirror with her, and both of us gasp to see that the familiar image of her in her finery fades, and is replaced by an image of a very healthy and serene and divine homely girl. This girl is very pretty, but she is wearing a dark black salwaar kameez. This dress, which consists of a long tunic, worn over baggy pants shines with a supernatural glow in the mirror. It has a luster that amazes, even my eye. I look at the designs on the kameez, and I notice that it resembles the night sky, because I see an embroidered image of a green half moon and surrounding it are lots of little white glittering dots that represent stars. I look at the necklace, and I notice that the golden beads shine with a luster that make them look as though they are composed of the shine of the Sun. She looks much different now than she has ever looked, and I notice that she has a natural look about her face and body, as though she has found her TRUE place in life, spirituality, and in the spirit world. I notice the humble and happy and content look on her face, and I see that she looks at me with such contentment and happiness and serenity on her face, and she is smiling back at me. I smile in contentment. However, Rose may be going through an awakening. She looks awed in the mirror, and she says, in a trembling voice, "Is that me, is that who I REALLY am? I would love to be that person, she appears to be so content and serene and powerful. She appears to be very spiritual in nature, why, she looks like a GODDESS!" She turns to me with a look of sincerity on her face, and asks me in a soft voice, "Jasmine, may I keep this necklace?" I say, "Ok." She says, in glee, "I'm going to wear this always." I think to myself oh great, but I know that she has her mind set on this. She continues, "I feel as though I were a PRINCESS when I wear this. This is my way of finding myself. I feel so special when I wear this necklace. I thought the necklace that Cal gave me was nice, but this makes me feel like a QUEEN, like I was GOD'S child! I'm going to protest the establishment by wearing this, and I'm going to enjoy doing this." I could hear the tone of enjoyment that crept into her voice as she said this, and I thought to myself, oh great! She takes the necklace off of her neck, and I note that the area of her neck where she wore the necklace has a very healthy and radiant glow, it looks as though the necklace HEALED that part of her neck. That part of her neck looks very smooth, soft and natural, and has a very fair and pretty look to it. She says, with a glint in her eye, and a scandalous tone in her voice, "Look at what I have!"  
  
She brings out a case, and she opens it. I gasp, it's the necklace that I saw. Out of curiosity, I gingerly put my finger on some of the white diamonds. My eyes are blinded by the sheer reflection that the diamonds give as they reflect the light in the room. I see thousands of dancing little intense white pin points of light accosting my eye, and I swear I am looking at something quite magical. I am overcome by sheer awe, I mean, I GET TO LOOK AND TOUCH SUCH A THING! I HAVE NEVER seen SUCH a thing before in my life. I moan in sheer amazement, I feel as though I am a little baby who has been given a sweet, only the feeling is more intense. Rose says, "Would you like to wear this?" My eyes widen in such amazement Rose would swear that my irises are disappearing completely. I say in a faltering voice, "uh, WEAR this? Well, I'm not sure." Rose says, "Oh, come now, don't be bashful, I think you'd look dazzling in this." Suddenly, I give Rose a down to Earth look as I tell her, "Rose, what if I get caught." Rose says, "Oh don't worry about it, Cal is going to be gone for hours. Come on, wear it." She takes the necklace out of the case, and puts it on my neck. I can hear the clasp click in the back, and all of a sudden, I feel a jolt, as though something crucial has happened in the spiritual realm.  
  
I look at myself in the mirror, and tears flood my eyes. The familiar image of me in my regular working clothes, wearing a fancy necklace with seeming supernatural powers only appears in the mirror for a moment, then a new image appears before my eyes. I see a very lovely and mysterious girl, who is quite beautiful looking back at me in the mirror. Her face bespeaks exoticness and mystery. I see her jet black hair, that is shoulder length, and I see that she is wearing a deep blue satin dress, the colour of the dress is enhancing the rich and deep tone in her medium dark skin. I look at her face, and I see that a very natural and light honey-like glow emanates from them. I see that a divine light is lighting up her face, and giving it a very Godly and surreal look. I look at the necklace, and I see that it is no ordinary necklace, rather it shines with a sublime radiance in the mirror, and I see that the reflection of the diamonds in the mirror makes the necklace shine with such a glow, luster, and sparkle that it looks like it has come straight from God. Then I look at the blue diamond in the middle, and I see that it contrasts and complements my blue dress quite nicely, and makes ME look as though I was a queen. I look at the confident and liberated girl in the mirror, and I shake my head in carefree abandon. I guess Rose could see the reflection too, because she says, why, you look like a QUEEN, you should wear the necklace, not me. "Rose," I say, "It's not possible. Please, keep the necklace." "Jasmine," she says, "I don't want this necklace, you should wear it." I sigh, and I look in the mirror. When I see that girl staring back at me, I swear that she takes on a personality of her own. She is another person, she is the soul I have been pining for many thousands of years to become. I reach my hand out to the mirror in the hopes of touching the soul that appears in the mirror. At the same time, I burst into tears because I am reminded that I am staring at a soul that I will never become, I am filled with sadness and grief, this is worse than slavery. At least with slavery, you don't know what is possible, now I know what God had destined me to be, and I would love to occupy this place, but I know, that barring a supernatural act of God, this will never happen, I will never be liberated, and I will never become the girl or the soul that I see in the mirror, that God has destined me to be. I know, that the forces of evil have determined that I should spend all of my existence enslaved and serving others, and trapped in cages, the forces of evil have successfully seen to it that I should spend my life unfree and miserable. I feel as though my heart was going to explode with misery. "Rose," I say, my voice trembling, "Please take this necklace off of my neck now." Rose says, "I think you look magical in it." Hell, if she won't take it off, I will! I undo the clasp, and rip the necklace off of my neck in sheer frustration, I hand it back to her. Now, my neck stings and burns, and I look in the mirror I see a red mark on my neck where the necklace hung. The red mark is growing in intensity and colour, and the sting hurts so much that it smarts, and the mark takes the exact impression of the necklace. Goddamit, now EVERYONE is going to know. "Rose," I ask her, "did you wear this necklace anywhere yesterday?" "Yes," Rose comments, "I wore it to two dinner parties, and everyone noticed it, especially the ladies, and Cal was quite impressed by the way it looked on me. Everyone said that they had never seen such a wonderful necklace before, they said it made me look like a real queen. They said that the necklace seemed to be out of this world, and that they would never forget what it looked like." Rose is giggling to herself. Oh great! That's really what I need to hear. "Rose," I say, "please look at my neck." Rose sees the burn mark, and she says, "I guess the necklace didn't like your neck," quite innocently. Rose continues, "I'm just going to make everyone jealous by wearing this!" I gasp in exasperation, Rose just DOESN'T seem to get what has happened. "Rose, now everyone will know I have been in your room, they will be able to tell by looking at my neck!" I tell her in a realistic tone. Rose says, "well, just cover it up with something." With what? I desperately look around, and my eyes are scanning the room with audacity. I really need to be getting out of here before someone catches me. 'Aha' my eyes spot a scarf, and I smartly tie it around my neck, just above the collar of my dress so that it will look as though it was a continuation of my dress. I say, while rubbing my palms against my skirt, "well I'd best go now, but, please, don't call me down unless you need something to be done." Rose says, "alright." But I don't think she really heard me.  
  
I walk out of her room, and all of a sudden, sheer instinct tells me to run like crazy, as fast as I can to my bunk. My legs take off, and in record speed, I am back in my bunk bed, I pant, because I can't ever remember running so fast, not even when I was Jessamyn in Gaulish occupied Roman Empire and I was conscripted by the Gauls to fight the advancing Romans, and my troop was running for their lives from the war crazed Romans who were destroying everything in sight. My mind slips into sudden meditation, and I see Cal walking into the room, and his eyes lower to a hateful glower when he sees the necklace I gave Rose shine quite radiantly and rebelliously on her neck. "Rose," he says in a very soft, yet threatening voice, "where did you get that necklace from and who gave it to you, and why are you NOT wearing the necklace I gave you?" He is yelling at her now. "A lady gave it to me, Cal, and the necklace is away for tonight." Rose answers in a matter of fact tone. Cal says, "Did you talk to that GIRL again?" Rose says, "No, Mrs. Hudson gave it to me, she got it when she visited India." I breathe a sigh of relief that she had sheltered me, but I knew that Cal still suspected.  
  
I turn my head because I am startled. I hear humming, and I turn around to see a young man, about the age of 19 getting ready for bed. I look at him, he is quite handsome, and he has skin that has been wizened by the Sun, he has a small frame, but his hardy body indicates to me that he has done lots of hard labour. I note that his dirty blond hair contrasts his tanned skin and gives him a very modest look, it also serves to enhance his good looks. I note that he has a very pleasant look on his face, and in his eyes. I look straight into his eyes, and I see the reflection of a very nice and caring person, of a very decent, honest and down to Earth man. Whoever he is, he would be the perfect match for Rose. By now, he has noticed that I am looking at him, so he asks, "Who are you?" I respond, "who are you?" He replies, "My name is Jack Dawson." I say, "My name is Jasmine." But at the moment that he tells me his name, my mind spins and vollies, as though it is transcending and transgressing the centuries, and I am brought to flashbacks from my meditation scenes in which I had seen that Rose would meet someone who looked exactly like him with the name of Jack. Jack notes the look of confusion on my face, and he asks me, "Is something wrong?" I reply, "no, I'm just tired." Jack says, "Perhaps we should get to know each other better." I say, "No, you should get to know Rose better." 


	6. Jasmine6

Chapter 6  
  
Jack looks at me in sheer confusion, "Pardon me, madam, but who is Rose?" I note that he places a slight accent on the word Rose. I pause, I don't exactly know how to tell him this. I muster up my courage and say, "Rose is a phenomenal woman, and one I think you should meet. She is your soulmate!" Jack looks at me in sheer confusion, he says, "For the time being, I'd like to get to know you." I sigh to myself in frustration, but I know that his reaction is normal. I know that he can't possibly get excited about someone whom he has never met. So we discuss about certain things briefly. I shall not describe our conversation because we did not talk about anything very important, we were just shooting the breeze. After talking with him for an hour, I feel very sleepy. I begin to feel amazing eye strain and painful pressure behind and above my eyes, and this is how I know that it is time for me to go to sleep.  
  
I opened my eyes, and it was morning, I know this because when I looked outside, I saw the rays of the Sun coming into my window. I could feel the mild heat from the Sun as the energy from the rays fell on my skin. When I looked on my arms, I could see that the Sun's rays were illuminating them with a very celestial glow, now they looked like honey. I could tell that it was morning because both the intensity of the Sun's rays, and the heat from the Sun was mild. I heard a noise to the side of me, and I looked around to see that Jack was stirring, he was waking up and he was getting out of bed. We were both getting dressed when the superintendent came into the room, "Jack, Jasmine, go up to the upper deck and start cleaning. You work together." I look at the superintendent in amazement and ask him, "Are you also Jack's boss." The superintendent doesn't even look at me, I guess he is in a hurry. I notice that he completely avoids eye contact me, he looks away from me, and he says in a hurried voice with a rushed tone, "Yes, from now on, you'll both be working together. Now, go, make sure the wonderful Titanic is all clean before the upper class people get up. You wouldn't want to inconvenience them by making them stay aboard a dirty ship." Then he turns about face and walks out of the room.  
  
I sigh, waves of anger just course through my body, and I feel the aftershocks of anger, as well as its origin, which I have always likened to a very hot mound of molten matter, that was very red, beginning to rise through the center of my body and soul. I turn to Jack, "You know," I say, "That's just it, why do we have to kill ourselves so that people who have a lot of money can end up parking their rear ends, and their feet on clean things? I wish someone cared about our welfare the way we are expected to care about theirs!" Jack looks me, and he notices that I am flustered. He puts a reassuring hand on my right shoulder and says, "Worry not, Jasmine, some things are just not fair in life. If we try to spend all of our time fuming about things that don't seem fair, we'll never get anywhere." I look at him with a very stunned look on my face. I think, 'how did he get so wise? I always thought that was my domain.' I say, "do you believe in God?" He gives me a very startled look, and he says, "Yes, why do you ask?" I reply, "well, I've always noticed that people who share your outlook do so because they have undergone some divinely lead spiritual transformation. What you said was a very wise statement." Jack smiles, throws his head back in a hearty laugh, and says, "Oh Jasmine, don't start to get so philosophical on me, I just live life one day at a time." 'Live life one day at a time.' I think to myself, 'that is a very interesting and prudent way to live life, perhaps I should adopt that philosophy.'  
  
Well, before I tell you about what happened on the upper deck, let me describe some of the trials and tribulations that Rose has begun to undergo. While Jack and I were sleeping on the lower bunks, that part of the ship that is so crowded and uncomfortable that it is nearly impossible to sleep there, Rose was lying on top of her nice bed that's perfumed and filled with feathers, and she was suffering from insomnia because she was feeling quite miserable. This is quite amazing, because she doesn't even have any bed bugs in her bed, like we do in ours. In addition, I have often slept on the floor, either next to, or underneath my bunk bed, because I found it more comfortable than my own bed was. I have often likened sleeping on my bunk bed to sleeping on hot, hard, and sharp coals. Anyway, when Rose did go to sleep, she had a quite disturbing dream. Let me describe it to you.  
  
The dream took place in the dining hall of the ship. She was wearing her diamond necklace, and she was wearing a nice, low cut dress that was blue and made out of satin. It was a little lighter than the blue diamond was in her necklace, but it complemented her necklace quite nicely. She was sitting next to Cal, and she was sitting at the head of the table. I saw her nervously trying to butter half of a roll. "So, Rose, how are you?" asked Mrs. Janes, who was one of the robber baron's wives. Her husband had struck it rich, along with the Rockefellers and the Morgans, by building America's vast railroad network. I noticed that Cal was staring at Rose with such intensity that I thought he had x-ray eye sight, and was actually trying to take x-ray pictures of her body with her eyes. Rose looked and felt quite uncomfortable, as she stumbled, "well, I am just fine." And she demurely stared, and began to nibble at her roll. She really felt like saying, 'I hate this place, and I hate being with my fiancée, he doesn't love me, and he's a monster. No, I hate being a rich girl, and I hate being a DeWitt-Bukater. I don't want to represent my family, or any of these 'rich' people. I hate these stupid parties where you have to act so perfect, and have to look so made up, and can't have any of the problems that real people have. Why can't I act like a normal person, why do I have to act so fake.' In spite of her trying to act according to the customs of the upper classes, I sense Cal's gaze on her intensifying, and him giving her a look as though he wished to kill her. I sense that Rose feels very nervous when she's with Cal. She always seems as though she's just ready to step out of her skin and, either run away, or die. She senses that somehow, he wishes to control her until her spirit is dead. You see, Cal can sense that Rose has a real spirit, that she has a strong and spunky spirit. Somehow, Rose can see the essence and reality of life and people, and she isn't blinded by status or illusions, nor is she impressed by either, and Cal hates her for this. Also, he hates the people who wish to help Rose soul search, and help her find out who she really is. I see now that Rose has already started the process of soul searching. I realize that she had begun this process even before she boarded The Titanic, and she is just crying out for someone to unleash her by helping her finish this process. I guess that's what my and Jack's roles are, and I think that's why Cal hates me, and I predict that this is why he will hate Jack. You see, Cal is a very evil and controlling man, who wishes to deprive people of the ability to access their souls, because he realizes that the minute you have access to your soul, the minute you can come under the influence of God, and so start the long soul searching and soul liberation process. Cal does not like God, and he despises those who do.  
  
Well, anyway, it is now time for me to return to our present situation. Jack and I grab a single pail from the bunk-room, and we drag it up to the upper level of the deck. Jack and I take turns dipping the two mops that we have, and sliding them across the floor. It must have been noon, because when I looked up at the Sun, I noticed that it was in the middle of the sky, when I noticed Rose coming up towards us. She saw me, and she smiled, "Hello, Jasmine, how are you doing, and how is your lovely friend." Jack stood up to look at Rose, and as he did so, his mind flashed back to the previous night, when he was conversing with me, and I said, "No, you need to meet Rose." He smiles, and extends his hand and says, "Hello, you must be Rose, my name is Jack, how are you doing?" Rose looks at Jack and their eyes meet, and I guess something clicks in the spiritual ream, because Rose's eyes become lost in Jacks, and her blue eyes meld with his blue eyes, and I notice a spiritual aura emanating from both of their eyes. "Well," I say to Jack, "I say it's time we took a break." Jack puts his mop to the side and says, "Jasmine, that's a wonderful idea." Jack says, "Do you want to know how to spit lugis." I cringe because that's a practice that, for centuries, has disgusted me tremendously. I know some people like it, but, for me, it has been a tremendous turn-off. Jack gags, and produces mucus, which he expels from his mouth forcefully. Rose follows suit, and in the process of doing so, she spits on Cal's eye, as he is walking by. Cal is not impressed. He seems quite upset as he ignores us, especially Rose, and he walks away. I sense that Cal is not impressed by Rose. Rose doesn't realize this, but she is skating on thin ice. She assumes that Cal will want to marry her because she is rich, but what she doesn't realize is that in order for her engagement to hold, she MUST act like an upper class lady, because that is what Cal expects! But, when I saw Rose and Jack hocking lugis, I noted that that was the first time I ever saw Rose happy with herself. She was totally at ease with herself, and she was enjoying herself. What's more, she appeared to be enjoying herself in the presence of Jack.  
  
Well, I guess Rose realized she would be in trouble, because she said, "I'd best go now." Jack gave Rose a look of longing in his eyes, as he said, "Ok." I meditated on the scene, what had happened. Well, I knew for a fact that by spitting on Cal, Rose had insulted him, and had told him, 'I really don't think you're important, and not only do I not respect you, I don't wish to be bossed around by you.' I knew that this had been quite upsetting for Cal, and this did not go down with him well. I knew that this had left quite an impression on him, and had informed him that he had better keep a closer eye on Rose, which is what I knew he would do. To a passer by, the event may have seemed harmless enough, but I knew that Cal could sense that there was love blossoming between Jack and Rose, if only the beginnings of love. And this was quite disturbing for him.  
  
Jack turned to me and he said, "So, what do you think?" I turned to Jack and replied, "what do I think about what?" Jack said, "You, know, what happened." I muttered under my breath, "I say, be careful." Jack turned to me and said, "You must be special." I reply, "Why do you say that?" "Well," said Jack, "because you knew about Rose before I met her." "Jack," I coolly reply, "I also knew Rose before you met her." Jack says, "Jasmine, you're missing the point, what I'm trying to say is that you knew that there was some reason that I should meet Rose, and you told me so." I bite my tongue bitterly, and I can feel some pain when I do so. 'That's RIGHT,' I think to myself, 'I DID tell Jack he should meet Rose, darn it, I slipped up." I say, "I am special in my own way." Jack turns to me and he says, "I think you are wise." I say, "I think we should get back to mopping the floor before our boss catches us lazing around." Jack picks up his mop and resumes, with me, in mopping the floor.  
  
That night, I went down to my bunk bed, with Jack, and I lay awake trying to meditate. Jack, noticing that I was not going to sleep, walked over to my bunk bed, where I lay on my back, with my eyes open. "Jasmine," he said, "What are you doing?" I said, "I am meditating." Jack looked at me with big, wide, and curious eyes, he asked, "How do you do that?" I replied, "well, I close my eyes, and I think deeply on a situation." Jack responded, quite innocently, "Do you think you could meditate on Rose, I mean, where is she, what is she doing?" "Jack, that's exactly what I was going to do." I say  
  
I close my eyes, and I say, "Well, I see Rose in her room, Cal is not there. She is wearing that Hope diamond necklace, and though she looks quite pretty, what being in a white satin night dress that catches the glow of the lights in the room, and reflects it in the mirror, she is really quite miserable. Every time I see the Hope diamond necklace, I am quite blinded, by it, it might make her look like a queen, but I am quite convinced that it is cursed. When she looks in the mirror, she sees the phenomenal reflection it gives back, I mean every faced of every diamond catches the reflection from the lights in the room, and reflects it back, until it gleams and gleams so that it blinds anyone who looks at the reflection in the mirror. She looks in the mirror, and far from seeing herself, she sees a very lonely and distraught girl, with a very sad look on her face. The essence of the reflection from the necklace begins to dim, until its very charm is lost on her. Disappointed, she puts the necklace back in the case, and then, her hands finger the case, with the necklace that I gave her. She puts it on her neck, and suddenly, I see her face brighten, in addition, the reflection in the mirror begins to change. I see looking into the mirror, and she is looking at a very happy and self- confident Rose as she is standing on a prairie on a hot summer day. She is wearing the necklace, and the Sun makes the pure gold beads gleam with a natural gleam, almost as though she was looking at the Sun itself. She is wearing a white, starched and stiff cotton shirt, and a off white long cotton skirt, and she has a white, woven cotton hat on her head. Her reflection turns in the mirror, until it is looking straight at her, and it smiles. She takes off her hat, and throws it towards the wind. Now, the picture in the mirror changes. I see her wearing a coral coloured chunia cholle (an outfii that is composed of a short, short sleeved blouse, and a long skirt), and she is sitting by a table in a domed building. I see a window by her side, and it is domed. I see it is night, and the moonlight, as well as the night sky is coming in through the window. She is wearing the necklace, and she looks quite happy. I notice that her chunia cholle serves to bring out the natural glow in her skin. She smiles, and she looks quite radiant."  
  
Jack looks at me quite amazed and he says, "Wow! We have to do something for such a special lady!" 


	7. Jasmine7

CH 7  
  
Jack and I wake up, and I notice that Jack is quite exuberant, and full of energy. I ask, "Jack, you are quite cheerful, I notice." He springs up at me and he says, "Yes, I am so because I know I have met my soulmate." I am quite amazed, I think he is being a bit brash, so I ask, "Jack, how do you know you have met your soulmate?" Jack looks at me in sheer confusion, "Why, you told me so!" I am really amazed now, I respond, "I did?" He says, "Yes, when you told me I ought to meet Rose, and then when you told me what you saw during your meditative visions." "But, Jack," I say, "I did not directly tell you Rose was your soul mate!" Jack replies, "You don't have to, I can read between the lines!" My reverberates on his last sentence, 'I can read between the lines!' 'Hmm, I think to myself, perhaps Jack is more spiritual than I give him credit for!" Then I remember back to my original premonition, in which I'd seen Jack coming in Rose's life as a sort of a guardian angel, a gift from heaven. I sigh to myself and I think, 'boy, given the state that Rose is presently in, she sure needs a gift from heaven, I mean, she's so miserable, she's on the verge of suicide."  
  
It is then that my mind meditates on Rose, I smile to myself, "Poor, rich Rose." Boy, that is an oxymoron! I mean most of the world would love to be in her shoes! From a material standpoint, she has everything, she is going to marry a rich man, she has never had to worry about money, like most of us have, and she probably never will. She has never had to fight for anything. All she has known is parties and high society life. She has been waited on hand and foot all of her life, she probably has had more servants and hand maids in her childhood than 10 people have in their entire life. She is spoiled, because she has been handed everything she has wanted since childhood. She is, likely, an only child, so she has not even had to experience the stiff and bitter competition that stems from sibling rivalry. Her mother and father probably attended to her every wish from birth. And that necklace, from the moment I saw it, it caught my eye, and it has not ceased to amaze me since! It is grand, I mean, I have lived for centuries, and I have never seen anything like it! It is exquisite. And yet, from the moment I saw it, I knew it was cursed, and I saw that this was so when Rose put it on in the mirror for me, then I got to see the truth, and boy did that hurt! Rose has had the best food to eat all of her life, and she doesn't know what it feels like to have your stomach hurt. Many people would wonder why Rose was so upset. After much meditation, I come across the real answer. Rose is a privileged girl, there is not doubting that, but she is lucky from a purely material standpoint! My mind vollies over to the year 2004 A.D., where Erica and I are sitting in a hotel room with the mayor of Punjab, Ashok Deol. He is interested in reforming the Indian economic and political system, but he has made it quite clear that he doesn't want to replace Nehru's socialist model with the neo-capital model whose mantra appears to be 'if you consume a lot of material wealth, you'll be happy, or he who has the most toys is very happy.' Ashok tells us, 'awareness of material goods creates desire [of material goods] and desire of material goods creates misery.' "This is exactly what has happened to Rose!" I think to myself. Sure, Rose has every material good she wants, she even gets to board this lovely ship first class, where she can have direct access to all of the 'modern-day' luxuries, while Jack and I have to break our back cleaning the ship if we want to even consider boarding it, she also has a high social status, which gives her a lot of power over the lives and welfare of the lower classes, especially through the clout of her fiancée, but this is just an illusion!  
  
When I think of this, I am reminded of the various times, throughout history, and in the early childhood of the legendary reformer and spiritual healer Jasmine who catapulted to global attention, first through accomplishing miraculous tasks in India, and then over the world, when I have gotten a new gift. It was nice, but after a while, the splendour of having a nice gift wore off, and it became simply a material object to me, with no emotional or spiritual meaning! You see, I became bored of such material objects, because they were routine, and because they were material. Similarly, Rose's material good welfare is based entirely on material goods, there is no spiritual element tied to anything that she has in her life. But human happiness has, traditionally, not come from sense gratification through material wealth, that is deriving happiness from having a lot of stuff, it has come from our perceived oneness with the spirit, the soul, and our place in the greater community at large! Humans have, in every society, derived a sense of true happiness, inner peace, tranquility, and calm that represented true bliss, from understanding their relative position in a family or community setting, and respecting the strength of the community, and making sure that their actions did not violate the relative tranquility of the community. The society that Rose lived in had begun to move away from that principle ethos of community, harmony, and tranquility and had begun to embrace the genius of the Industrial Revolution, the amazing wonders of Science, and the marvels of the Industrial Age, in terms of the scientific breakthroughs that were being realized, and the new gadgets that a new, emerging middle and elite class was beginning to be able to afford. People, for the most part, in Rose's time were so blinded by the amazing discoveries and feats that were being accomplished by "American Capital" and "American Science", that they were forgetting that happiness is where the soul lays. Humans derive happiness from material goods only momentarily, but true tranquility comes from knowing who you really are, spiritually speaking, and from being able to shut out the material world, and material goods, and being able to find true happiness through your inner self, while searching for God and the spirits, as well as tolerant ways of living and seeing the world.  
  
I meditate on Rose, it is early morning, and she is being dressed by her maids. She is in her petticoats, and her eyes are dreary and full of misery. She has a frown when she looks in the mirror, and she has such a long and unhappy face. When the maids pull her arms into her dress, her body sinks back, so it looks like the maids are trying to pull her arms off. She looks like she is being tortured to death! Her eyes are red and swollen, and it looks like she'd been crying all through the night! When I look at her, my heart feels like dying, I feel like crying, and my heart goes out to her! Here is a spoiled girl, who doesn't have the important element in life, happiness, and who is trapped! I meditate on her further, and I see that her soul is just crying out to anyone who will listen, for help! 'Strange,' I think to myself, 'because I used to be this way myself!'  
  
Jack comes up to me, and when I see his face, I swear that I am seeing the Sun shining in my face. Suddenly, his face glows with a very Sunny and golden complexion, and I feel as though the Sun Gods, and spirits are waking up in his conscience and mine, as I look at him, and befriend him. I can hear music in the background, it sounds like angels singing. I note that this is odd, because there is sheer silence on our deck. "Yes, Jack," I say. Jack says, "So, what did you see about Rose?" I note that he asks this question quite eagerly. "Jack," I say, "How did you know I was meditating?" Jack says, "because you were very quiet, and I figured you must be in some sort of deep thought." I say, "well, I see that she's a very unhappy and lonely girl. For her, life is sheer torture. Though she's been waited on hand and foot, and has access to all of the luxuries in the world, and has amazing power over the lives of others, given her social status, she still feels as though something is missing! She has noticed that this element has been missing from her life since the time she was born! She feels trapped! And she is unable to truly express herself. She is in a society that she doesn't understand, and she has to abide by rules that she can't make heads or tails of, and she is very confused!" Jack exclaims, "Wow, you are wise!" 


	8. Jasmine8

CH 8  
  
So far, I have been discussing how I have perceived Rose. Now let me concentrate on the way she sees the world. I am able to do this through intense meditation. Via meditation, I am able to see her soul!  
  
It was late at night, and I was trying to go to sleep. I am a night woman, so I, often times, don't fall asleep until late at night. I always meditate on certain topics as I am trying to go to sleep. Well, sometimes, if I am very tired, and I meditate, I will fall asleep, and somehow, I will dream through my soul. This is what happened when I tried to meditate on Rose.  
  
I am Rose. I am wearing a long, white dress. I am reading a book, I look down at the title, and notice that the title of the book is Pride and Prejudice, it's by Jane Austen. "Ooh," I squeal, I look down, and notice that I have gotten a paper cut from the book. I sigh, and I feel as though my life is prejudice! I mean I have been trapped in this upper class hell all of my life. I have to conform to rules that I don't understand, I have to read things that make little sense to me, and I have to behave like a lady! I tell you, I have no idea how to behave like a lady! In despair, I feel my back sliding upon the wall, 'sometimes,' I think to myself, 'I put on an act to keep from dying from the constant boredom and humdrum that my life has become.'  
  
I move over to the table, where I have kept a diary. I have kept it secret from everyone, but, I pick it up, and I have a sneaky look in my eyes as I thumb through it. 'I just might show this to Jasmine, she should see this.' I think to myself. I have flashbacks of the many things that I have been writing about, that, for me, have served as symbols of my life, that are in the journal. I wrote the entry about the cat and the mouse. In this entry, the cat was torturing the helpless mouse in the cage, and forcing it to, either comply with a certain lifestyle, and a certain way of living, and strict rules, or face death. I lower my head and look at the floor. I am lost in deep contemplation.  
  
That mouse is me, and I have been encaged all of my life in a world and lifestyle  
That I neither understood, or could conform to. All of my life, I have simply  
  
Acted to the expectations of society. I have simply put on a 'big show' and  
  
Pretended to be someone I was not. I mean, for a while, until now, really,  
It has been fun for me. In fact, it was almost like child's play. I mean, in  
Return for conforming to the rules of society, I was treated like a real  
Princess, wore fancy clothes, got nice jewels, and was waited on hand and  
Foot. I never had to do any real work either!  
  
My eyes shift, and I look up, momentarily, and then lower my gaze, as I finish my contemplation  
  
Like Jasmine has! My God, though she has never said so out loud, she must  
Just love to be in my shoes. She has such a hard life, I wouldn't want to  
Be consigned to a life of hard labour and insults, but she takes it in stride, I  
Have never heard her complain about her life. She is quite modest and humble  
Indeed. Perhaps I could learn something from her! Anyway, now, I am about  
To be married to a man who is evil! I don't love him and I never have, and I see  
That I will be miserable if I marry him. I will die if I don't escape. Now, it's not  
Funny anymore, now everything is quite serious, and I see that if I don't escape  
From this life, I will die, and so will everything that has been associated with my life, as well as humanity in general. I can't have that! I must escape!  
  
Now, my eyes are wandering, as I think to myself, but how! Then, I look around, and the word Jasmine! Pops out of my head.  
  
I shove my journal underneath my mattress. If Cal ever finds this journal, he will kill me, he will understand that I know the truth, and that I have woken up in my mind, heart, and soul to the truth, and to reality, and that I am woman enough to face reality, and to face my soul, and to face down evil, and that I am not afraid to fight evil, and to fight illusions.  
  
I sit on my bed, and think about the bogus upper class that I am in. They are a very fake and beautiful people. They remind me of old, painted over china. This type of china is beautiful on the outside, but when you take off the paint, you realize that it's really quite dull and ugly! I mean, on the surface, my fiancée, and others appear to be upstanding ladies and gentlemen, but this is only a show. Their prosperity comes from the blood of others, and this is not right! It is not allright to prosper from the suffering of others, as the class that I come from has. Anger rises in my bosom, as I realize that there is nothing that these people have done that is decent, honest, legal, or ethical to justify their wealth. They have amassed their fortunes by exploiting, manipulating, and in some cases, even killing, others. Their motto is "step on others on your way up, because that 's the only way to prosperity."  
  
I think some more, and as I am thinking, the Hope necklace that Cal gave me, catches my attention. I sigh because for me, it looks nice, but that's about it. It has no other value for me, other than a nice accessory that I look nice in. I pick it up, and am blinded when I look at the sparkle that the little diamonds make when they catch the light in the room and reflect it. It is AMAZING I think to myself, but, at the same time, it is USELESS! It has not brought me happiness or joy, or prosperity, all it is is something that looks nice. I look nice, but what have I DONE for the world. In that sense, I see myself as being like this necklace. 'No,' I think to myself, 'I have to find a way to escape from this world, and to find true love.' As I finger the necklace, I wonder if the answer lies in Jack, he is nice and decent, he comes from the lower classes, but I'd rather be his fiancée than Cal's, I wonder if he could help me? I look into the blue diamond, and shivers go up my spine, I realize that the necklace is cursed! And so will I be, if I don't find a way to escape. I put the necklace back down on the dresser table.  
  
I sit down on my bed, and I think some more about my life. So far, my life has been lived by someone that is not me! This might sound strange, but I don't feel that the person sitting on this bed telling this to you is Rose. The person telling this to you is a nice person, who is very pretty and looks and acts like a very pretty doll, but has no emotions, and feelings of her own. I have to try to find my own emotions and feelings, and I have to try to express myself. For all of my life, I have felt as though I don't belong in the upper classes. I have always felt constrained by this class. I have always felt as though the upper class has constrained who I really am! I long for the day that I can spend time watching my hair flow freely in the breeze, that I can let my long hair flow loosely down my mane, and fly away freely into the wind, and experience life as it really is. I'd love to fly, to dance, to play baseball, among other things, but I can't do this, because proper ladies don't do that! Well, to hell with all of the rules. I make a resolve to myself, 'I don't care what anyone else says, I'm going to break all of the rules of society, and experience life as it really is. I'm going to be free, and I'm going to live life on my own terms, and not on anyone else's. From now on, no one is going to tell me how to live my life. If it gets me thrown out of the upper classes, so be it, it is better to be free, and to taste freedom, and to live on the edge of life, than it is to be secure, but to live by exploiting others.' I look down, as I think more about this class. I know very little about them, and what little I know disturbs me immensely. They have never worked at all in their lives, if someone handed them a bucket and a mop, as they do to Jasmine, they wouldn't know what to do with either. Their prosperity comes from exploiting and abusing others. They design laws so that they can keep the poor down on purpose so that they can continue to live their lavish lifestyles. The only thing that matters to them is money. To them, you're a person only if you have money, nothing else counts or matters. They judge the world entirely on material things, and they have forgotten what's important in life. Though I have never known anything else in my life, I know that there has to be more to life than finery. There has to be something about happiness and contentment that's also important in life. These people have totally forgotten about that! But I intend to learn it!  
  
I look at the clock, it's almost 4 o'clock, certainly, Cal is still downstairs having rum and cigars with the other 'gentlemen'. He NEVER notices me. To him, I'm just some trophy that he can sport around, and brag about to his friends, it's like he's saying, "Here, look at the nice beauty that I've caught, she's mine, and no one else can have her!" My feelings, and my humanity don't matter at all to him. To him, the only thing that matters is money and power. He lives off of power, and I've noticed, with a sickening feeling in my stomach, that he actually enjoys having power over others so that he can exploit them, also, he grows stronger by usurping the power of others! To him, power is money, because power can be used to procure even more money. I have never kissed him for the year that we've been together. He doesn't respect me, he doesn't love me, and he doesn't care about me. Tears well up in my eyes, and they begin to burn, and I start to sob, as I think to myself, and he even humiliated me in front of others by hitting me! I start to cry, as I say, "He doesn't care about me, to him, I'm some sort of doll, some sort of possession that's to be controlled, won over, and flaunted off like some trophy. Well I've had it, damn it, I'm not some sort of doll that others can marvel at, I have real feelings, and emotions, and they're going to show through whether he likes it or not." I think to my mother, 'dear mother,' I think, 'but, she also, cares a damn about me. For her, this is a wonderful marriage of convenience, it will save our name. You see, all of our family money is gone, and the only thing that's left is debt. If left alone, we will be forced into penury, and a life of hard labour, and she can't have that! It 's better, from her standpoint, to keep your status in society, even if that means that you have to humiliate your self, and end up marrying your daughter off to someone who's mean. My feelings and emotions aren't important to her, the only thing that's important, to her, is keeping our name!' I could care less about our name. I want to find my soul. For me, being happy is much more important than what people think about you! I think that's why I've had such a hard time fitting in in the upper classes.  
  
I stand up, and I think about everything I would tell my mother, if I thought she would listen. I look in the mirror very hard, and I cry when I see my mother's image in the mirror, but I notice that her eyes are clouded over, and I know that this means that she'll never see eye to eye with me, and she'll never understand where I'm coming from, where I'm going, and what is important to me, NEVER! Suddenly it hits me.I wouldn't be alienating my mother if I were to leave. She has never understood or known me. I would just be leaving an old maid to live her life the way she understands it, while I live my life the way I understand it. You see, though I am her daughter, somehow, we must part ways. I must find my own way in life, and she already knows her way. She is under the naieve impression that the way she lives her life is the way that everyone should live their lives. But her way of seeing the world is fatalistic for me. I have to find my own way of seeing the world if I am ever to experience true happiness. I have to start taking risks, and find out who Rose really is, and start asking Rose what she really wants, and what's REALLY important to her. Otherwise, I can only blame myself for what happens in my life, because I did not take an active role to try to change my life! It is not up to my mother to change my life, it is up to me to change my life. I am a grown adult now, in a short while, I will be someone else's wife, and I will no longer be known as her daughter. It's time for me to grow up, and it's time for me to find the internal strength in myself to stand up for what I believe in, and what I know is right, and to pursue that, regardless of what others think. People will talk, and let them say what they want. I just know now that I can't be bothered by what others might say about me, because that is how I will be destroyed. I must be independent by not caring what others say about me, partly because I am a person who is capable of thinking and making her own decisions, and partly because others are never going to live my life, therefore, what they think doesn't matter at all! I am the only one who will ever live my life, therefore, the only opinions that really matter are MINE! It is time for me to find the beautiful woman in myself, the woman that has been hidden for so many years. I have to develop this woman, because this is the only way that I will find happiness. My mother might mean well for me, but she can't see Cal for who he really is! To her, he's just a 'gentleman' with a good name and a lot of money, and for her, that's all that counts. I have seen her stick to the rules and norms of the upper classes unconditional, because she thought that that was necessary to save face. But I know that that can't be the way to true happiness. The way to true happiness must be through your heart!  
  
Since Cal won't be back for a while, I pull out my book, and I resume reading, but I'm glad I'm getting to know myself better, as well as what I want. I imaging I will be seeing Jack again. I say, "I can hardly wait to see him! 


	9. Jasmine9

CH 9  
  
It is morning, and I, Jasmine, wake up. I see the Sun shining in my eyes, and I am almost blinded by the glow and radiance of it. "Ooh, I say." Jack turns towards me, he says, "what happened?" I say, "I dreamt about Rose." Suddenly Jack turns to me, and he looks at me with wide, interested eyes. "You say you dreamt about Rose! Tell me, what did you see?"  
  
"Well, I know that she spends many hours in deep thought." Jack gasped. "Yes," I continue, "she keeps a diary, which she writes in. She profiles her life through this diary, and her most favourite entry is one in which she is a mouse, who is caged, and Cal is the cat, who is trying to catch her, and trap her. She has realized that she is her own person, and that her mother is simply another person in her life. Her mother might have raised her, but now she is going to be an adult, either through liberation or through marriage. Her mother is totally oblivious to her concerns, needs and life. Her mother sees things in a way that is totally different from the way that she sees things. I suppose this is normal, because they say that each generation shall be different from the last. She has realized that her mother views things in terms of societal perceptions, in terms of how her standing in society is affected by others. Living for emotions and for love, or for the love of family makes no sense for her. Marriage, for her, is not based on love, or even compatibility, emotional caring, or any kind of sustenance, it is based on money, prestige, and status. These are all very surface things. Ruth could care less that Cal is abusive, for her, he has a good name, and he is wealthy, and he is part of the elite, and based on those factors alone, he will make a good mate for Rose." Jack asked, "What do you think?" I respond, "I don't think this would be a successful marriage for Rose. If she marries Cal, she will become an adult, independent of her mother, and she will be known as Cal's wife. But Rose is rebellious, she'd break out of that marriage some way or another. If she breaks off her engagement and finds true happiness, then she will become a liberated soul, and in God's terms, she will be an adult, because she will have realized who she really is, taken steps to liberate herself, and taken time to find her true path in life, which, in God's realm, and in spirituality, everyone is supposed to do." Jack breathes, "Jasmine, my god! That's very deep!" I continue, "I believe in marriage and the family, but sometimes, I think you have to wait a while, and try to focus on God and spirituality, and listen to his true message before you make choices in life. I think, if at all possible, have the input of your family, and have support from them all through out your life. But, I don't think this is possible in Rose's case. I think she'll have to sever all ties with her family, and make a family on her own."  
  
Suddenly, 'bang, bang, bang, bang!' We both turn our heads, and are greeted by a cross superintendent. "So," he bellows at us, "Why are you not upstairs cleaning?" We get dressed, and as I get dressed I think to myself, 'my god, it's so easy to get lost in spirituality that I forget my daily tasks!"  
  
I could tell you what we did that day, but all we did was clean the upper deck. The real surprise came at night. At night, I was playing rum with Jack, and we were betting with peanuts. Jack bet this way, because he wanted to be gentleman like to me, and he did not want to bet with money, because I was a lady, and because I was poor. I began to get bored, so I bent my head down on my fist, and I began to think hard. I remember, it was late at night, past 7 o'clock, at least. There was no light in the room, and we were on the deck, so we could feel the chill wind blowing past us. Our pupils were stretched wide, because we were relying on the blue darkness of the outdoors to light our vision. Well, there was a lone candle burning, but that did not really do much to dispel the all- enveloping darkness that surrounded us. Suddenly, "AAAH!" I jumped up, and almost fell backwards in my chair. Jack gasped, "Jasmine, honey! What happened!" I say, "I had a vision, please, let me relay it to you." I pick my chair up, and I sit down in it. I put my forehead down on my fist, and I begin to think very, very deeply. I recite what I see to Jack, word for word." My voice becomes very mystic as I do so.  
  
It is late at night, and I see Rose's room. It is lighted by artificial lights, and by candles, huge candles. Cal has not yet come down. I see Rose sighing, as if in resignation, she says sadly, "He won't come down now, he never does, rum and cigars matter more to him than I do." I see her in front of her mirror, with her diary in hand, she sounds like she's about ready to cry, her voice wavers and is quite shaky. She looks in the mirror, and she sees a very sad girl, with red, tear stained eyes looking back at her. "Is this all I am to the world, a pretty accessory, and nothing more.I mean, I'm about to get married, and here I am, feeling quite miserable, and trapped! No one could care about my feelings, to them, I'm simply Cal's fiancée. I have everything in the world, but I still feel so miserable! There has to be more to life than what I presently experience, and feel." She looks in the mirror again, and she gasps, because she sees a prairie, and Sun shining in the mirror. The glow of the Sun from the mirror is so bright that she shields her eyes with her right hand. Then, she looks down at her right palm, and she picks up a dinner knife, albeit. She runs the knife across her palm, and says, "No one would care if all of the blood from my veins flowed on the floor, and I collapsed like a crumpled doll in the wake. I know, to shock them, I'll do something drastic. I'll die, then everyone will know the true torment and suffering I have felt. Perhaps, by my death, people will better appreciate me, the sorrow in their hearts will make them long for me more. By being dead, my memory will pull at their conscience, their hearts, minds and souls, like a niggling pain, full of grief and guilt that just won't go away, and in that process, they will know who I really am, they will be reminded of the person that I really am!"  
  
"I am definitely not finished," I say to Jack, "but, doing yourself in with a knife on the wrist is the oldest attempt in the book. I think that her statements were,.well, they were made out of desperation. They remind me of a lot of poetry, and stuff like that, but, now that I think about it, all of that really did come from the soul!" I look at Jack, "Look, I mean, technically, we don't owe her anything. I mean, from a purely rational point of view, if she suffered, it wouldn't have any effect on us, because we have not caused our suffering. If anything, because of the social class that she belongs to, and due to the way that they treat us, perhaps, you could say, that indirectly, she has caused our misery. I mean, an act of God, or a miracle, notwithstanding, there is no way our lives are going to change. We'll die cleaners, and dock men and women. People from her class, however, have real choices in how they live their lives. If they don't like a certain occupation, they can just move on to something else, we don't have that luxury, we'll always have to serve them. But something tells me that a higher power is going to be very mad with the both of us if we do nothing to help her, and besides, I think she should get a real shot of happiness." I smile at him, "how about you?" Jack looks at me, "Yes, I think we should help her, I am quite disturbed that she wishes to take her life. I think it's tragic." I respond, "you know, rationally, and technically, there is no real reason why Rose should be unhappy. She sits in the lap of luxury, and has never known hard work or struggle in her entire life. Most people would be set for a year, in terms of money. by just auctioning off her old clothes. That's how well off she is. But, in Hinduism, and in ancient spirituality, the sages, have since time immemorial taught that true happiness is never defined by material wealth, by your perceived social standing in society, or by who you marry. True happiness is defined by your ability to accept your self and by your ability to be happy with your self. I guess the only way you can find true happiness is by seeking your inner self, and by listening to who your soul is, and what it wants from life. Material things will only give momentary joy, but the joy fades, and then you're back to the way you were, in terms of happiness. It is only by accepting who you are, and by learning to live in harmony with your environment, which is ultimately God's realm, that you can find true happiness. For centuries, spiritual leaders have said that the path to true happiness lies via finding your inner self, by the inner path in life, which is the true path, because that path leads to God and to God's realm. I think Rose may benefit from this." Jack looks at me with wide eyes, "Jasmine, you have the wisdom of sages, I think you come from God, you must, I talk to a lot of people, and I have yet to meet anyone who thinks quite like you!" I continue, "Let me finish with my spiritual introspections."  
  
Rose says, "Why is life so cruel to me? It appears that no one ever listens to me. Here I am, virtually non-existent to every one. It's not fair! Sometimes, I really feel like screaming! They don't care if I life, and they couldn't care less if I died. All I am to them is an accessory in life! What about my feelings, and my pain, why does everything have to be seen in terms of money, why is there little room for personal happiness?" Suddenly, she tears over to her chest, where there's that Hope necklace, my God! It looks nice, but for all of the misery it has caused everyone who has ever held it, is it worth keeping. She picks it up, "this necklace looks nice, it is intriguing, but I could really care less for it. Sure, when I wear it, I look like a princess, but what else does it do for me? It has not made me a happier person, and it is a real dead weight, in many ways. Why do I need it, why do I need anything in life, why do I need my life? Why do I need to live my life? All my life, I've always lived life based on the way that others thought I should. I've lived a real lie in life, and I've not been my true self. Now, I am at the brink of making a total life choice that will change my life forever. Once I am married, there can be no going back! But, I don't even want to get married! I want to have fun. I've never had fun in my entire life. I've lived in misery." Now, I see her looking in her mirror in defiance, as she tosses her head, "well, that's for someone else, I'm going to exit from life."  
  
Jack gasps, "No, Jasmine, No!" he cries out! He grabs my wrist, and I pull back in pain and shock. "Damn-it Jack!" I exclaim, "That hurts!" "No, honey," Jack says, "this can't happen. I mean, Rose, she is my Rose.I can't bear to see her in pain!" He looks at me with pain in his eyes, and I can feel that his heart is breaking. This is funny, because until recently, I felt that that was a figure of speech, I never really knew that anyone's heart could really break. "well, Jack, she's just contemplating, she hasn't done a damn thing yet." Jack interrupts me, "but she was thinking, and I think she'll actually do it!" "You're probably right," I say, "but if you'd listened to my reflection, you'd have seen that she didn't really want to die. All she wants to do is escape, and since she can't think of a real way of exit, for her, dying is that way." "But, Jasmine, it's wrong!" Jack says. I smile at him, "Now you know how all organized religions feel about doing yourself in. Well, I think in this case, the issue goes beyond a moral stance. I mean, from a moral standpoint, hocking yourself may be wrong, but if you feel bad, all of those bad feelings are just going to simmer and collect in you, and they'll eat away at your soul, and eventually, at your physical body, until nothing's left, and you collapse, both physically, and spiritually. Then, you're really dead. I think that we'd be better off if we helped her, I think that that's all she wants and needs." Jack says, "but how?" I respond, "well, I think she'll try to do her self in by trying to jump off of a hull. That's what I saw in my reflections. I think she'll try it, either tomorrow night, or the night after that. We should be ready for her when she attempts this. 


	10. Jasmine10

Chapter 10  
  
I had instructed Jack to stand out by the hull of the ship. I had told him that Rose would attempt to take her life on the hull. As per Jack's instruction, I gave him a vivid account of everything Rose was thinking when she made the decision to attempt to end her life. Jack and I remained hidden behind some cargo boxes, and I will never forget that night as long as I live, and neither will Jack, wherever he is, seeing as he has died and gone up into the spiritual realm. It was a very cold and dark night, and I remember clamping down hard on my jaws so that they would not make noise by clattering. I started to shiver, and that's when Jack picked up a stray blanket, and gently and lovingly put it over my shoulders. That gesture meant quite a lot to me, and I was quite touched by it, I knew that he was a very sensitive man, and would make a good lover for Rose. The sky was clear, and was a jet black colour, and the air was quite crisp, I could feel the crispness nipping away at my face, the tip of my nose, and my eyes. Sometimes, I feel as though the cold air has little fingers, that act like pincers, which nip certain parts of the body, because that's how the wind felt to me on that night.  
  
For a long time, we heard and saw nothing but silence, and fatigue was beginning to get the best of me. I could sense and feel myself beginning to nod off, only being awakened by the crisp and cold air. Then suddenly, we heard very quiet stirrings on the ground, which reminded me of a gentle mouse scurrying along the ground. "There she is!" I quietly whisper to Jack. Jack nodded to me quite instinctively, as if to say, 'good, then we can be ready for her!' The stirrings turned into muffled shuffles, sounding like slippers sliding across the ground. We craned our heads beyond the boxes, and we saw Rose. She was wearing a off-white night gown. My guess is that, by judging the way it appeared in the moonlight, it was made out of some fine muslin. She was wearing a fine, lacy wrapper on top of that, and I could ascertain that her slippers were made out of satin. They were shiny and white. MY GOD! Satin is a cloth material I will never wear! One look at her face, and I could tell she was in pain and consternation. She had a very confused look on her face, that upset her pretty face. Strangely enough, there were no wrinkles on her face, given the immense stress she was presently under. Her face appeared to be, quite literally, pretty as a picture. But, I could see the uncertainty on her face, and I could hear her mind saying, 'my god, there's no going back from this one!' I gauged that she didn't even know how to commit suicide. By now, I knew that she was a lady of leisure and finery, and she believed that acting lady like and proper was the way to do everything. For her, this was her 'debut in life', her way of 'getting back at the landed classes.' From her standpoint, it would be the negative publicity from the act, the 'my god, the DeWitt-Bukater's and Cal have just had a tragedy in the family, how could such a scandalous thing as suicide have happened in fine families' that would do in the two families that Rose was associated with, and not the tragedy happening to Rose. I sighed, 'well, this is a segment of society that values titles, and honour and image more than anything else. They really evaluate you on who you appear to be, and not on who you really are.' Rose could not see us, but I began to concentrate very hard on what she was thinking, I had to keep my promise to Jack.  
  
I tell Jack, "This is what she is thinking," she looked down at the ground, and she looked over the side of the ship, that was at the side of the hull, and she shivered, not because she felt cold, she could hardly feel the cold air, but because she realized that 'it really is a long way down.' She was thinking  
  
I've never seen this side of the ship, like I've never seen this side of life before.  
It is Very scary for me, because I've known parties, and finery all of my life, no  
matter How boring it may have been. But this is really a new experience for me.  
For the first time In my life, I feel afraid, as though I don't know what's going  
to happen next. I Really don't want to do this, but this is the only way I can  
get them to listen to me! I've thought about my life over and over, if I don't do  
this, I will end up married to Cal, And I can't do that. I mean, he's evil and rotten  
to the core, there's no reasoning With him! I might as well marry the man of  
evil himself, which is exactly what Cal is! All of my life, I've felt trapped and  
caged, and I've felt as though there is no way out of my life!  
  
It was at that point in time that I began to choke. My God! I could sympathise with her! Somehow, my mind drew a blank, and instead of Rose being at the hull of the ship, I saw myself at the hull. All of a sudden, I was staring down at the dark, and cold waters of the North Sea! Jack sensed that I was shivering, and he asked, "what happened?" I said, "nothing," Jack turned around and gave me a look that said, 'yeah right!' "All right," I mutter, "I had a strange experience, presently, we see Rose looking quite nervously over the hull of the ship, but while I was telling you what she was thinking, I had an experience, where, instead of seeing her at the hull of the ship, I was at the hull of the ship, and I was thinking and feeling everything she was!" Jack looked at me and he said, "you're right, that would make my mind wander too." I said, "It was quite a scary experience for me, it's like my life is parallel to hers.but that can't be because I am not her, I mean, I come from a totally different history, a different family, a different social class, I don't even think like her!" Jack interjected, "perhaps your spiritual life is parallel to hers." Confused, I ask, "what do you mean by that?" Jack replied, "I don't know, you're the wise one, you figure it out." I thought to myself 'well, that's some help!' I resume concentrating on what she is thinking.  
  
I understand that there is no way out of my life. I feel that, by living, I am actually  
Dying! I mean, through death, I may find utter and eternal salvation. At least,  
There will be no pressures for me to face in death, and my soul will be free, wherever  
It shall lie. It's the ultimate decision, because once I'm dead, there's no way I can  
Come back to life, but at least it will have been my conscious choice, like nothing  
Else in my life has been so far. So far, it feels as though someone else has been  
Living my life for me. I have no feelings and emotions, and I exist through  
Someone else's eyes. It's like I'm a nice image that someone dreamed up! Well  
I want more than just an image, I want real life! If I can't get it in life, perhaps I  
Can get it in the afterlife!  
  
It is at this point in time that I become quite emotional again, because I can understand and identify with everything that she is saying, thinking, and feeling! For some strange reason, Rose has become me! And her soul and blood course through my body! I begin to sob, and it is at this point that Jack holds me tight and says, "there, there, don't cry, dear lassie, everything will be fine." I turn to him and say, "no it won't, it's going to get much worse!" 


	11. Jasmine11

Chapter 11  
  
Jack put his hand on my right shoulder. I could feel the warmth from his hand radiate to my shoulder blade and warm it in the process. Jack said, "So she's confused, what else is new?" I respond, "Jack.you don't seem to understand, it's not just that she's confused, it's that she feels that there's no way out of her life, besides suicide. I guess that would tragic by itself, but what makes it worse." and it is at this point in time that I can feel a lump rise in my throat that makes talking very hard, but I continue, however, my voice creaks as I say, "Is that while I was concentrating on what she felt, something happened, and suddenly, she was not at the helm of the ship, rather I was. It was at that moment, before I started to cry that I became her, and her dreams and thoughts became mine. At one moment in time, the two souls and persons, however unrelated to each other they seemed merged and became one!" Jack's eyes widen in disbelief, so much so that his pupils and irises dilate so much that I swear that a supernatural light is shining out of his eyes and making his irises seem to be a much brighter colour of blue than they naturally would be. His face registers such a look of shock that words can't describe it. Jack's voice trembles as he says, "Jasmine.Jasmine.what do you say?" Suddenly, Jack begins to pant, I guess out of amazement, shock and panic, and he trembles and shakes as he continues, "Jasmine." His voice is cracking so much I swear it's going to break, and his face becomes quite florid, as he spits out, "Jasmine.I mean.I mean.I don't understand.what's going on.?" He lowers his forehead so that it rests on his right palm, but I can tell that he's very confused. I continue, in a matter of fact tone, "Jack, you were right when you said I was special. I have had spiritual revelations regarding Rose, it appears that a very strong spiritual force is trapped in her body, and that force is just pining to get out. Earlier, she had summoned me into her private quarters, on the pretext that she desired some cleaning to be done. Later, however, she told me that she desired me to liberate her from the shackles and the cages that had bound her in her life, for all of her life. She told me that a very strong spiritual force resided in her, and that it was my duty to liberate this force. A very strong glow emanated from her eyes, and her body shone with a celestial aura as she was talking. The voice that was talking through her, I guess, was very forceful and determined, as though it knew exactly what it wanted! At the time, I didn't think much of it, but now that I look on it, I guess God had determined me to meet Rose, and God had determined me to help Rose." Jack raised his head, and he gave me a look of sheer shock and amazement. I could see the colour drain from his face, and a very sick look enter his face, almost as though he had nausea, and wished to throw up. He began to stutter in a very incoherent manner, "You know.you know.this is too much for me!.I mean, I don't get it, I just don't get it!" Then, it is I who puts the comforting hand on his shoulder as I say, "You don't have to, all you need to do is live out your life." Jack buried his head in his right palm, and began to softly cry into it, as though the sheer shock of the experience had overwhelmed him, and he wished to seek an outlet to relieve stress and confusion by crying. I could sense a sense of relief emanating from Jack's mind, body, and soul, by crying, as though the action somehow opened up a release valve, which allowed the pressure that had been building in him to escape. I instruct Jack, "Just look up at Rose, and hear what I say, that's all you need to do. Then, you go back and clean like you're supposed to. Don't worry about stuff you can't understand, that's not your job in life." Then Jack turned to me, with such a look of resentment on his face, and such a look of resentment in his eyes that burned like a red fire, as though I had just condemned him to a life of hard labour and peonage with my words, and he said in a very harsh and acidic tone, "Jasmine.it's bad enough to clean this ship and get flack from my superiors and most of the people on this ship, but I don't need it from you, considering that YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN I AM SOCIALLY OR OCCUPATIONALLY SPEAKING, I THINK YOU'RE STARTING TO GET A BIT FAR OUT OF YOUR BRITCHES!" He is practically shouting at me now. I clarify myself, I say, "Jack, that's not demeaning, some people were meant to do God's work and liberate souls, some people were meant to be doctors, you're meant to do your task as you've always done them, and God hadn't intended you to ponder deep into the heart of the soul, because it has been obvious that that's not an area you can comprehend or deal with in a rational way, didn't you cry a minute ago when I told you what I thought about the entire situation and tell me that you couldn't take it?" Suddenly, Jack has a look on his face that looks as though he's trying to defend himself from my retaliation, and he puts his palms in front of him in a gesture of resignation, "Ok, I give up, you do God's work," he responds. I say, "Well, let's concentrate on Rose."  
  
I see Rose and right now, she's clutching her fine woven white shawl, with a look of consternation and uncertainty on her face, as though she's pondering the unponderable, and thinking the unthinkable. I hone in on her thoughts.  
  
If I die right now, what's to become of me. I know I would cease to exist as Rose,  
But is that what I really want. Why am I doing this.is it for personal satisfaction,  
Or is it just to get back at people who can't hope to understand me. I guess by  
Killing myself, the only person I would hurt is myself. I would cease to be Rose.  
My mother and Cal would feel grief, but this would be only momentarily, given  
How they appear to value money and social standing above all else. My mother  
Would feel grief for a while, but she would soon be over it. Even my death wouldn't  
Shake her. Cal, would probably get remarried and forget that I even existed.  
Even the people in our community would not miss me!  
  
Suddenly, I can feel sadness washing over her whole body, as a lump of pain and lonliness wells up and rises in her throat. I can see that her whole body has turned into nothing but sadness. She looks out into the water, and is heartbroken to see a very sad girl, with a long face, and forlorn eyes looking back at her. The image breaks her heart, and she can feel that a very sad and burdened girl is looking up at her and not Rose. The image hurts her so much that tears start to fall down her cheeks, a couple at first. She pulls away from the hull and resumes with her thoughts  
  
Damned if I do, and damned if I don't. I swear, life's a bitch! I could live a very  
Unhappy yet financially secure life of misery, I could continue to be the queen of  
Nothing, and someone else's trophy, or I could escape, and find my own fortunes  
In life. If only I knew how. Right now, there is no other way out. Clearly, suicide  
Is not the option for me,, but other avenues of escape are closed. Perhaps I should  
Wait for other avenues to open up for me.  
  
It is at this point in time that I see that her mind begins to volley. It is as though thousands of ideas are entering into her mind at once, some conflicting others, leaving her a very confused and disoriented girl. She shakes her head, wishing to end the torment of ideas that has just entered her mind. For her, they feel like a swarm of bees, who have come to accost her with their stings, but the ideas feel like stings for her. Seeking refuge, she immediately turns her head towards the water, and she thinks  
  
That's it, I must end my life. If liberation means confusion, I can't deal with it!  
These ideas confuse me, and I have no way to deal with them. I never wanted  
A life of pain or misery, or deep contemplation. All I wanted was happiness  
And fun, and I wanted to do what I wanted to do only! Apparently, I am not  
Going to get that in this life, so I must aim for it in the afterlife.  
  
Then, with seeming determination, she walks over to the hull of the ship. Her eyes and body appear to have the hardness of certainty in her decision, but somewhere, deep in her soul, I can sense a wavering spirit, that tells me that she really doesn't want to end her life, at least not right now!  
  
I grab Jack's hand, and say, "Come on, we have to go, she's going to do it, and she's not thinking about it either, if she's successful, it wouldn't be good. Get UP!" Jack obliges. We walk over to the hull, and we stand hidden behind some boxes. We can see Rose, in the dark night, whose blackness is lit by the light of the moon and the stars. The appearance is quite celestial in nature, and the light shines very brightly on Rose, giving her a very celestial hue. The light from the moon and the stars, seem to me, to be gifted from God. I am so happy to see such a beautiful night, that I forget that I'm freezing. We hear Rose's light slippers slide softly along the starboard, and they remind me of a meek rabbit scurrying across the ground. Jack moves towards Rose, but quietly, so that she doesn't notice that he's following her. Rose is at the edge of the ship, and she looks at the dark and eery waters quite nervously, she thinks to herself, "Once I go in, there can be no coming back!" I can sense another lump of nervousness rising in her throat. I can see that her body and spirit are wavering, as though she is persuading herself to undertake an action that she really doesn't want to undertake. Then, she tilts her body outward into the ocean, she has tilted her body far enough so that if no one catches her, she'll fall into the ocean, probably to her death. Then I hear a scream emanate from her direction, she cries out, "AAH. Help, it was a mistake, I don't want to die, but it's too late now!" Immediately, just as she's hanging onto a frozen bar on the outside of the ship, for dear life, and looking nervously at the dark and cold waters, and she's shivering because she can feel the cold currents from the sea bathe her body, Jack leans over the side of the ship, and he reaches for her hand, he says, "Come now, hold my hand." Rose looks at him, her eyes widened in shock, "Jack.you couldn't possibly support me!" Jack's voice hardens, "Damn it Rose, just hold my hand." Rose nervously extends him the hand that's not holding onto the bar. Jack continues, "Ok, so now let go of the bar!" Rose says, "But Jack." Jack's voice hardens and acquires a steely, no nonsense, just do what I say tone to it, "Rose, do what I say, or we'll both be in the water!" Rose meekly obliges. Now I can see Jack straining himself to pull Rose up. He is successful, but in the process, her petticoats, and she are on top of him, so that it looks, to an innocent bystander, that he's trying to take advantage of her modesty and her honour. Suddenly, I hear shouting, "You nave, get away from her!" Some upper class men have spotted Jack and think he's some sort of scoundrel, but I know better. Jack quietly slips out from under Rose, and moves towards the boxes where I am standing. The upper class men walk away. Rose said, in a very unthankful, why did you do it tone, "Jack, you didn't need to save me." Jack snuffs in contempt and disbelief he retorts, snapping, "Yes I did." Rose says, "I wanted to die, I mean, why did you do it?" Jack said, "Because you were making a mistake, you even said so yourself, don't act all hoity toity with me, MISS. I may be a lower class man but that doesn't make me unintelligent. You want to die by suicide about as much as I want to dye my hair green! Besides, if you'd really wanted to die, you'd have done so a long time ago, and you wouldn't have asked for help before you decided to die! I did the right thing, even if, right now, you can't see it that way. I know I won't get any appreciation for my work, and I don't expect any, nor do I expect recognition for work that I'm supposed to do, but by golly, I'm not going to put up with any arrogance, ok, you got it! You've been living in the lap of luxury all your life, so you don't understand how other people live, or even the trials or tribulations that other people have to face. You value everything in life based on material worth. And you know what, that's wrong, because life's not all about getting stuff, and walking over other people and profiting off of others' blood and using others, life is about appreciating others, being happy and content with what you have, liking who you see in the mirror, liking your life, accepting yourself for who you are, realizing that you are God's creation, and therefore, you are a very beautiful person, not living your life the way others think you ought to, appreciating the work that others do for you, learning to be modest and humble in life, even if you've sometimes got to swallow your pride and eat humble pie in the process, appreciating everyone for who they are, learning to respect others in life, not compromising others' situations just because you aren't having all of the fun in life that you want, knowing when to compromise, knowing when to make sacrifices, not expecting everyone to take care of you so that you can live a life of sheer luxury while others break their backs, their hearts and souls to make life so easy for you. That and more is what life is all about. There's a lot in life that you've got to see before you can be a whole person, and Jasmine and I are going to try to show that side of life to you! The life you're living is so narrow it's fake! Well, you're safe for now, go back to your fiancée and go to bed. Jasmine and I had better go to bed because we have to get up early and work tomorrow."  
  
Jack walks away from Rose, I can sense he's tired and fed up with Rose and her attitude, because he's not even looking at her. I guess I can't blame him, I mean Rose did diss Jack, even though he risked her life, and faced personal humiliation to do so. A wave of understanding and warmth begin to wash over me as I realize that there are few people in life who would have done, at a moment's notice, what Jack did. In that way, he is really selfless. He is a person from God, as I am, and he should be blessed from God. I look at Rose, and I see the sense of amazement that appears on her face, for the first time in her life, she is smiling, and she looks quite beautiful to be doing so. Smiling makes her human! I see her jaw drop in amazement, and I see a warm light begin to light up her face, giving it a very warm and humane glow. I can sense that she is amazed because this is the first time in her life that anyone has ever made a sacrifice for her, and gave her a talk straight from the heart that was meant to improve her, no matter how acid it may have seemed. I can sense that Rose's heart is beginning to warm up with the love from God. She feels a very special warmth and glow emanating from her heart and spreading to the rest of her body because of her encounter with Jack, because she realizes that he cares about her, and that he loves her! The mere fact that he saved her life and then gave her the talk of her life, when everyone else would have ignored her, signifies to her that he is different, and that he was sent to guide her soul. Even though she has no concept of the soul, much less how one guides a soul. Rose can't comprehend the feelings she feels, nor how she has begun to change emotionally or spiritually. She is still an innocent little girl who just wants to shut out the world and play and have fun, but Rose does realize that this is a night she'll never forget. And through her innocence, and lack of understanding, she does see that her life is about to get vastly different. She can feel the seeds of change in her body, even though she wouldn't call it that. She can feel the warmth growing in her body. This is a new experience for her, because she never understood what love meant, nor what it felt like to be compassionate or care about others you didn't know. All her life, she has just know getting things, having nice things, and ordering other around while she sat around and occupied herself with day dreams. All her life, her life and its focus has been centred around her and her needs, she has never had the concept of a world where others existed, or where others even had needs. All her life, she has felt as though the world has revolved around her and only her. This is a new experience for her. She looks at me, and instead of seeing a person, she sees pure light, whose essence enters her eyes, and begins to change her in ways that she can't understand. She runs towards me, and she kneels towards the floor and puts her hands at my feet, I have recognized this as a sign of obeisance for spiritual forces that was afforded to deities in India, I am shocked because I have never thought of myself as a spiritual force. She looks up at me, with a smile on her face, and her eyes shining, she says, "Oh.Thank you Jasmine, thank you for saving my life. You're right, I have been ungrateful, I should have thanked Jack for what he did." "Rose," I say, "I was not the one who lectured you , why are you thanking me?" Rose responds, "Because I know that you were the one who would have thought of this, I sensed all along that Jack is incapable of understanding deep spiritual things. I sensed that you cared about me, and that you would see my true spirit. I sensed that you would have Jack help me! That's part of the reason why I tried to kill myself, I wanted to have someone listen to me!" She giggles in glee, "and I see that someone has!" I tell her, "Rose, you'd best go sleep now, you'll catch cold if you sit on the top of the ship all night. Anyway, I've got to go now, unlike you, I've got a long day ahead." Then I ponder, before I say, "Though, it must be nice not having to work at all and getting to do whatever you want all day." Rose's eyes become sad, as does the rest of her face, and she says, "Jasmine, it's not nice, it's hell, sometimes, I get so bored, I feel trapped!"  
  
Well, I see Rose heading towards her quarters, as I walk away towards mine. I think about what has happened, and how disturbed Rose must have been to even want to attempt her life. I realize that Cal wouldn't give a damn. In fact, he probably won't even miss her. That's when my body fills with rage, and in that second, I wish to teach Cal a lesson! Rose is a very important girl, and not a trophy or an object to be sported, she has real feelings and emotions, and she deserves to be helped! It's not fair to her that she's treated like an object by a society that has no respect for human life! The fact that they wouldn't even miss her in the event that she decided to take her life is evidence of that! I think to myself, "There's got to be a way that I can help Rose, and I intend to find that way!" 


	12. Jasmine12

Chapter XII: Titanic  
  
I spent the entire day cleaning the deck of the ship with Jack. Then, as usual, Jack and I retired to the common quarters for the third-class labourers. It had stung me to think about the fact that some in this world referred to us as third-class people, instead of the decent humans that we were, but Jack told me not to pay much attention to this. Jack said, "Some people in this world are insecure, and they try to make themselves appear to be better in their own eyes than others by belittling those who occupy a lower social class than they do. In the end, we are all equal in the eyes of God, so it's best to just ignore the labels people attempt to confer on us, the labels are meaningless anyway, because they only identify people by a very superficial quality, and not by their personality, intellect, or their spirituality!" 'Hmm.' I had thought to myself after Jack had told me that. 'I thought I was the only one who was wise enough to give deep spiritual thoughts to others, perhaps Jack is more spiritual than I had initially given him credit for!"  
  
Anyway, we heard a knock on our cabin door. We were just about ready to retire for bed, we had a long day the next morning. "Jack," I said curiously, "I wonder who would think highly of us to come knocking on our cabin quarters at this hour of night?" Jack said, "I don't know." As I got up to open the door, I was caught up in a quandary of thoughts. It's strange that someone should think highly of us, the low class scum that everyone wants to forget about, to actually knock on the door! Most people just meaninglessly barge right in, showing us little respect or dignity in the process. I know that socially speaking, we are the gutter scum, but deep down inside, something tells me that we, in fact, are quite noble, and it's the people who occupy a higher social status than us who are the gutter scum. Sometimes I wish class status was not based on social standing, but rather on personality, integrity, and soul!  
  
I open the door, and lo and behold, it's Rose! "Rose." I gasp, "Why are you here?" Rose said, "I would like to invite you to a formal dinner we are going to be having aboard The Titanic two nights from now." I step back in shock, 'did she just say what I thought she did?' I think to myself. I know that Rose has extended us, what appears to her, an innocent invitation, but she never did stop to think that we just wouldn't fit in! I mean, I've watched, lots of times, how the upper class interact with each other at formal occasions, by serving them, but I don't know that I could actually act like them. The mere thought of that invokes nausea in me, and makes my skin crawl. I mean, it's one thing to barely stand them, and to manage, somehow, to interact with them at a very limited and minimal level, but to come into their society, and to become one of them, if only momentarily, and to get to know their prominent members on a very personal and intimate level? Well, I just don't know. I mean, I'd always known, in my heart, that no matter what anyone else told us, we were the noble ones, not because we had money, or social standing, or we had done great things financially, but because we had hearts, souls, personalities, empathy, and the ability to care enough about our fellow human beings to want to help them out! I had often done spiritual studies on many in the upper classes, and I found that their souls were, either, vacant, or occupied by entities that were not associated with God, which was the entity that I always associated myself with. I think about what Rose has just said, and it still makes my skin crawl, and my stomach turn. I mean.spend an evening with a whole bunch of vein and conceited people who thought of no one and nothing but themselves, and their own personal welfares and agendas, and get to know them as though they were my personal friends? I was convinced that associating myself with such fake, vein, and in many ways, non- existent people was soul pollution. In that their souls were so polluted by evil and by evil ways, that anyone who was not as corrupted as them, who came into contact with their souls would immediately become permanently corrupted, spiritually speaking. I sigh to myself, because I can tell that Rose doesn't see it that way. She still sees life as a game, and for her, nothing is more fun than inviting two people that she is very close to to a dinner. For her, it's a complement, for us, it's torture, and an insult. I'd rather clean privies than eat with the people she hangs out with. I mean, I do believe in treating people equally and with respect, but if someone doesn't have a soul, or that person's soul is saturated with evil and malice, with no room for good, ever, is it worth my effort to even associate with that person? I look Rose squarely in the eye, and say, "I'll think about it."  
  
It is at that point in time that Rose moves into the room, and walks towards Jack's bunk, of course! Jack looks startled, I can see the fear in his eyes. "Rose." he says, his eyes tinged with fear and anxiety, "what are you doing?" Rose said, "Why, I'm coming towards you, my love." "Ok, Ok," I say, "Rose, we'll come to the damn dinner, just get the hell out of here. You should not have come down here to begin with." Rose looks at me, with innocence in her eyes, "Why?" she asks innocently, "I thought you were my friends." I respond, "Rose, we are your friends.but.I mean.ok, you're a high-class girl, right, and you're coming down to see us. Now, technically, you should only be associating with people from your class. The reason why is if you get caught, you're going to get fried, and we'll get in trouble as well, also. I imagine that your husband watches you like a hawk, given the pretenses and traits of upper-class men. If you were to get caught, you're going to end up in a lot of trouble. I mean, I'm not saying this because I want to be mean, I'm saying this to protect you." Rose says, her voice full of confusion and pain, "but you don't seem like lower-class people to me, you seem like noble and dignified people. I see the vivaciousness and the integrity in you. I see that you are very beautiful people, you shine with the beautiful colours of the sun rise. I can see that your souls are pure and beautiful. As for being a high-class girl, well, I've had it with that. For me, all it's been, for all of my life is a DAMN TRAP. I mean, I had to trade personal freedom and happiness for seeming financial security. Right now, I'm in a position where I will NEVER have freedom. You don't understand that freedom is something that I've so hungered to taste for all of my life. I thought I would never get to taste that until you came along. Somehow, you sparked a process in me, a process that begin to set me free from my cages, from my long years of captivity in a class, in a life that I never belonged in!" Rose is still talking to me, but the word cage makes me gulp, all of a sudden, I can feel a lump forming in my throat, 'My god! I've been in cages all of my life as well! Perhaps there's some correlation between the visions I've seen earlier and the conversation we're having now, as well as what has just happened tonight. Perhaps it's a message from God that something dramatic is about to happen!' Rose continues, "I never knew REAL people until I met you. All of my life I was told that social status and prestige, and rank were important, but now I've begin to realize that THAT IS WRONG! It's only now that I've begun to realize who I am and who I can be and the potential that I REALLY have. I am not a trophy girl or wife for someone, rather I AM A LIVING AND BREATHING HUMAN BEING WITH REAL NERVES AND ASPIRIATIONS!" God, this time I feel like crying, 'I've been trying to define my life, by fighting similar notions myself!' Suddenly, a sense of realization, that takes the form of sincerity, and a sort of lowering of the guard that allows Rose to see my soul is reflected in my eyes. It is right now that Rose can see my true self. "Rose." I say, "I see WHAT you mean, I HEAR YOU!" Rose says, "Then PLEASE LISTEN TO ME! I've found myself, thanks to you." 'found myself!' I think to myself weakly, 'isn't that what I was trying to do?' Suddenly, I feel sick, like a sense of despair is washing over my body. I let Rose continue, "I thought my life was insignificant, and I thought that there was NOTHING, NO ONE who would help me.until you came along. I don't even know how to describe it.but somehow, you've given me the keys to unlock my life and MY SOUL." 'OK," I think to myself, 'Then, I start to have visions, in which I see myself in the future, locked up in a room, with sharps in her hand, attempting to take her life, because she feels her life is insignificant! Somehow, am I that person?' I feel very weak now, because, until now, I thought of myself as a strong and self-reliant person. I mean, therapy was ALWAYS for other people, and NOT for myself. I am also shocked by the speech Rose has just given me, I had always thought of her as an innocent and naieve girl, who wasn't capable of such deep and spiritual thought, I mean, that was supposed to be my realm!  
  
"Rose." I say, my voice having a steely edge to it, "We'll go to your dinner, JUST GET THE HECK OUT OF HERE!" She looks in my eyes, and she sees that I mean business. She turns around, and proceeds to walk back to her cozy quarters. But before she goes, I must comment on the way she looks now. She's wearing a fine, satin, flowered dress. She has a very fine spun, white cotton shawl that she wears around her shoulders, but somehow, instead of looking like a high-class girl, which no one can touch, she appears to be a nice, normal girl, who is no different from Jack, or I, or anyone, for that matter! I sigh in a sign of relief and amazement. 'It's amazing,' I think to myself, 'how quickly my perception of a girl can change. Earlier, I saw her as a very confused girl, who had all of the symptoms for spiritual discovery, but who was showing none of the signs, however, she appears to be taking the reigns by the hand, and she appears to be thinking for herself. Or, is it just my perception, perhaps she really is changing.well, if she is, it will be a good thing. She is a girl who deserves to think for herself, for once, instead of having everyone else do the thinking for her. She had the potential all along, it's just that someone had to instill the confidence in her that she was a girl capable of making her own decisions, who was a very worthy person. I guess WE were that someone!'  
  
"Jack," I say, "Is it just me, or is Rose really changing?" Jack responds, "Jasmine, it's not just you, Rose really is changing, and for the better." Then, I look at his bed, and I notice something on it, I move forward to the bed in curiosity, "Jack." I say, gasping, "what is that?" Jack attempts to cover the object with a sheet, but to naught. I pull back the sheet in curiosity, and I look at the painting. It's a painting of him and Rose standing at the hull of The Titanic. I can see the spirit of freedom in the painting. And I can see that Rose is happy, Jack is holding Rose in his arms, and they look like real lovers, like soulmates. "Jack." I gasp, "you can see the spirit of people, you can see the spirit of freedom and of vibrance of life. You have a very special gift. You give life and spirit to your paintings!"  
  
Jack looks at me in shock, "What do you say, Jasmine? I mean, I just paint because it gives me pleasure, it's a sort of therapy, the way I express myself. I don't know WHAT you're talking about." "Jack, you don't have to, you have the gift, it's given to you by God?" Jack rolls his eyes in exasperation, "Oh GOD, Jasmine, and you were the one who told me I wasn't spiritual. Remember that nice conversation you gave me yesterday when Rose attempted to take her life?" I can tell by the way that he placed emphasis on the word nice, and by the way that he winced when he said it that I had hit deep when I gave him the conversation that I did, and that I had hit where it had hurt. "Oh Jack.!" I say, as I move over to him, my voice full of empathy and compassion, and my eyes full of empathy. I can tell by the expression that he gives me that he accepts my apology, "I'm so sorry! I never meant it that way. What I meant is that you are not able to see souls the way I can see them. But that doesn't mean that you can't see souls! Everyone has a different way of seeing souls, and this is your way of seeing them!" I can see the sense of relief coming over Jack's face, and he says, "I see what you mean, I mean, we all have a different purpose in life, right?" He is smiling at me now.  
  
I sit down on his bed next to him in deep thought, my brow furled. Jack looks at me and he says, "Rose's conversation had some effect on you, I can tell by looking at your face." "Jack," I say, with a look of seriousness in my voice, "It's not that, it's that Rose managed to hit my soul with what she said. I mean, when she talked, it became obvious to me that her soul was FINALLY beginning to wake up and express herself!" Jack looked at me in confusion, "How do you mean, Jasmine?" "Jack, THINK," I gasp, "do you really think that she, a naieve 17 year old girl who's only known a life of parties and being waited on and boarding schools could have thought of that by herself, or do you think that she had perhaps, albeit probably subconsciously, have gotten guidance by some sort of higher power?" Jack thinks for a minute, and then he says, "Oh, YEAH, I see what you mean!" I continue, "But it wasn't just that that got my attention. When she talked, I began to have flashbacks and visions towards certain phenomenon that has happened in my life, and suddenly, she was not talking about herself, rather, she was talking about ME! In some way, by helping her, I have served to help myself. I had visions that the key to liberating myself would lie in liberating her, and now, I see that that is the truth. It became obvious when she talked to us!" Jack looks at me in awe, and a look of amazement comes over his face, "Jasmine, I wish I had your insight, I mean, it must be awesome for you to be able to look into the essence of people, to understand what is really affecting them, and how to best help them!" I tell him, "Oh NO! Sometimes, it can be a real nightmare!"  
  
I get up, and I look at the picture of myself in the mirror. I feel like crying. I mean, here I am in a washerwoman's clothes, when I know that I should be wearing the clothes of a princess. "Jack," I say, my voice cracking, "It's not fair, it seems that I have always had to serve people, and get crummed on, while I got nothing in return. Why do I get the short end of the stick in life?" Jack begins to pass his hands down my arms in a very soothing manner, "There, there," he says in a very soothing voice, "it depends on how you look at it. Perhaps, that was the role God had intended for you. Perhaps you were supposed to be the soul who liberated people, and let them realize their full potential in the process. I mean that's not a curse, in a way it's a gift, because there aren't many in this world who are afforded that privilege. I don't care what anyone says, you are a lady!"  
  
I smile to myself, but I think to myself, 'OK, now we HAVE to pretend to be people we aren't . In a way, this should be fun, AND interesting!' 


	13. Jasmine13

Chapter XIII  
  
Jack and Jasmine Discover Each Other as Spiritual Friends  
  
I sigh after I think about what Jack told me about my reflection in the mirror. I was quite touched by what he said, he really was a gentleman! I think long and hard about what Rose has just invited us to, one of her stuffy dinner parties that only the snobbiest of matrons and masters of high society would find appealing! And, we had to attend it? I sigh to myself, I know deep down inside that Rose's invitation had been made out of innocence and good intent. I know Rose did not extend the offer because she wanted to embarrass us.  
  
Jack looks at me, "Jasmine." he says in concern. When I look on his face, I can see that his brow is furled and creased with the look of concern on his face. He continues, as he approaches me, and puts his right hand on my left shoulder in concern, "what's wrong?" I feel touched by his gesture. When he rubs my shoulder in consolation, I can feel my muscles relaxing, and I can feel the strain, tension, and pain leave my body. I reflect on what has happened, and I realize that I have learned that, somehow, Jack is capable of sensing and feeling other peoples' pain, and extending him self, his SOUL, via kind gestures and words. On the surface, these gestures and words appear to be mere consolations that any good friend would give another friend, but when one dug deeper, one realized that he too was capable of transforming hearts, minds, and souls, albeit in his own subtle way. Alright, he may not BE as spiritual as I was, but the SPIRITUAL understanding still resonated through HIS soul! I smile to myself in amazement, EUREKA! I think to myself, I am finally beginning to understand the essence of him! So, my initial intuitions, and reading of him were NOT wrong after all!  
  
Jack's brow creases in even further consternation, "Jasmine." he says in a high pitched voice that reflects nothing but concern, "I SAID WHAT'S WRONG?" I gasp, I am so startled, and I say, in a voice that reflects my state, "nothing.nothing, just let me have a few minutes to think!"  
  
I walk over to the corner to meditate, but I can sense Jack's glare piercing into my back. It's almost as though he's analyzing me. For the first time in my life, I feel so uncomfortable around him, it wasn't supposed to be this way, Jack and I were supposed to be partners, friends, the both of us had developed a common rappore, and a common goal, which was to free Rose from her present traps and cages, but now, I feel as though, somehow, our relationship was straining, as though, Jack, who had previously been so close to me was moving away from me! 'WAS IT SOMETHING I SAID?' I think to myself.  
  
Anyway, I meditate solo, and I am lost deep in thought process, it would be the last time I would meditate solo. I was yet to understand that Jack would say something that would change my life forever! I lowered my head, as I always do when I meditate, and I raised the fingertips of my right hand up to the center of my forehead, and I firmly, but gently pressed them deep into my forehead, and I began to breathe deeply. To the uninitiated viewer, I would appear as though I was either ill, or had a headache, or was troubled by some grave matter. I think about the implications of Rose's offer. I know Rose did that with good intentions, but DIDN'T she understand that we had NO place at such a gathering. Those gatherings were only for the high society hens and roosters! A commoner would feel, and be treated, well like an undesirable left over. I sigh to myself, Rose still thinks this is some sort of a game! She hasn't learned that there are serious rules in life! I know she wants to have fun, so do I, but sometimes, you have to learn to play the game by the rules, however unideal it may seem so that you don't get burned. Then it struck me, and the effect was like lightning Rose had indeed been maturing! I should have seen it, that young woman who had just come into see us had knocked on the door, that was a sign of respect, even I had earlier commented that I had thought that it was odd for someone to be treating us with respect?! Rose hadn't invited us to a boring dinner because she didn't realize that it was a breach of societal rules, or because she wanted to embarrass us! Rather, she had invited us because she respected us, and considered us to be one of them, even if we did not occupy the 'proper' social standing. Rose was finally beginning to understand that it's character, and personality, and soul, and not societal status or money that makes a person a gentlemen or a lady, and she had realized that we were both gentlemen and ladies! I giggled to myself in glee, because I was understanding that Rose was finally waking up spiritually, her eyes were opening, and she was beginning to understand and see the spiritual light that shone inside of her.  
  
Then I felt it.Jack's glare began to burn right through me, in much the same way that fire burns right through dry wood. "JASMINE!" he said in a raised voice. "Jack.Jack," I say in a startled voice that reflects my caught-off-guard mood, "please don't yell." He gave me no time to finish my sentence. "Jasmine," he continued, "I have had it with you!" Before I even had time to protest, he accosted me with verbiage, "I mean, you spend all of your time in meditations, oh, I know that that's how you grow and develop, but I think you spend TOO much time isolated deep in your self! I mean you never get outside to interact with people and to see what they are doing. Every time I see you, you are either preoccupied with some abstract concept that 99.9% of us don't understand, or you seem to be TRAPPED by SOMETHING!" I freeze when he says the word trapped, 'oh God!' I think to myself, 'he's smarter than I give him credit for, and he's much more SPIRITUAL than I thought, somehow, I sense that he understands my ordeal!' He continues lecturing me, "Now, I've had enough of this. You say you believe in equality, but in some ways, you shut yourself off from the world, and you ensconce yourself in a spiritual world, which even you admit, can only be reached in an altered state of mind. Now, I've nothing against spiritual development myself, but I've had it with this. I mean, ALL you do is meditate, when you're not working. DON'T you GET BORED OF IT! I mean, the spiritual realm might be fascinating and EVERYTHING, but at sometime, even spiritual people have GOT to get SICK of constantly meditating. To make things worse, you EXPECT everyone to see the world the same way you do, and if they don't, or, from your (narrow) standpoint, they don't APPEAR to, you get mad, and you accuse them of being narrowminded, or not being spiritual, and you tell them that they were not meant to be 'men of God, or women of God, and that, instead, they were meant to be common people', what ever that means!" I wince to myself, his last sentence HURT! But, I guess I deserved it, I guess when I told him that he wasn't capable of interpreting God's world, or his message I had hit deep and hurt him. Well, now I realize that I was wrong.  
  
Anyway, Jack continued his lecture, and I could tell by his raised tone of voice that he was very hurt and angry. I am sorry, I hadn't meant to hurt his feelings! "Now, look, I admire you and everything, but I can sense that something's eating at you, that something's bothering you. Now, out with it.why don't you ever want to get out and meet people, to get to know them, like I do? I sense that, deep down inside, you're hurting, either that, or you, yourself, are trying to escape from SOMETHING! Please, I'm here to help YOU too, tell me, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?" It's at that moment that a lump begins to form in my throat, and I begin to get very emotional. Well, Jack was hitting on something that was very sensitive to me, something that had been bothering at me, been eating away at my core, at my essence, my existence, and my soul for as long as I could remember. I begin to shake as I tell him, in a very shaky, nervous, tiny, soft, wavering, and scared voice, "Jack," I gasp and swallow hard. I look up on his face, and I look up at his face, and I see that it reflects a mode of understanding. It is at this point in time that a wave of relief washes over my face and my body, and I feel as though a burden, a mountain of pain and worries, and anxiety, and nervousness has just been lifted off of my shoulders. I continue, "Jack, it's just that, I too have been suffering from cages, and traps for as long as I could remember. I mean, I have had flashbacks and I see that long ago, far away, I was a princess, but then something happened, and I have been entrapped in THIS state, as a SLAVE ever since. You see, you don't realize it, but you and I and Rose live very parallel lives. Oh sure, Rose is a high society girl who has been waited on hand and foot for her entire life. She eats fancy food, and sleeps in a nice bed at night, and she has always had money, but deep down inside, she is miserable! She is trapped. We live lives of drudgery, our slavery is real and miserable, we are appreciated by no one in life, and we HATE our existences, but we are all trapped, and we are all trying to find ourselves, and who we are! For as long as I could remember, whenever I mediated, I could see a very dark man as my master, trying to keep me in a cage, trying to keep me as close to him as possible, trying to use me and my essence, my beauty, and my innocence to get what HE wanted in life. And, for all of my life, I have hated, but I had no way of escaping, until NOW, you see, by meeting Rose and YOU, I am beginning to understand MYSELF, and to free myself from the traps and cages that I have been bound in! This dark man, who is my master, also hates me, and wishes to harm me, and use me, he has no respect for my beauty, or who I am. He lives off of the strength and the souls of others, in fact, that's how he grows. That's how I am ALWAYS able to associate with Rose's lot in life. I mean, this man, for me, is what Cal is for her! I see that you, too are caught by masters, and you, yourself may be condemned by higher powers to live a life of doom." It is at this point in time that I see Jack opening his mouth as a sign of protest, but then, quickly closing it. I say with determinism in my voice, to reflect, that I understand, as well that my eyes are opening, "Now, I understand the world, and, while, I may not know how to escape from my present lot, I understand where to look. This came from my befriending you , and especially ROSE! By analyzing, and understanding her, I HAVE COME TO UNDERSTAND MYSELF, AND THE WAY I OPERATE!"  
  
I see now, that Jack is smiling at me, and I myself smile. Jack has a smile that, just lights up his face, and makes the people he smiles at feel very gay, and attuned with themselves. I feel as though, by looking at his smile, I have been spiritually lifted. Jack says, with a smile in his voice, "I see that you have changed, but, now are you willing to open up to yourself, and to understand how the world works, and to get to know people, and how they are, and what makes them tick?" I give him a matter of fact look, as I say, "In order to help Rose, I'll HAVE to do that, and more!" Then I say, "Jack, I have to admit, that since I've met you, you've grown as a person, you seem to understand people and how they think, and what makes them tick much better!" Jack responds, "It was what happened on the night Rose tried to jump off of the helm of the ship that changed my perspective on life. I began to understand that, sometimes you have to help people get over hurdles in life, even if, on the surface, it seems as though you don't owe them anything. I mean, I realized that, though it doesn't make any logical sense, people who may seem to be totally unrelated to you in any way, shape, or form, may actually, in a very spiritual and aesthetic way, be very related to you, and that by helping them, you actually help and enrich yourself!" I look at his face, and see that it is glowing with the elixir of life, as though he had just drunk the drink of the Gods, and, in the process, imbibed the spirit and magic of youthfulness, as well as the ability to see deep into others' souls. Then I comment. "I've grown myself, by looking deep into myself, I've actually developed humanity, depth, and richness that only come with deep thought and spiritual healing. I've actually gotten to the point where I want to relate to others, and I want to help heal them and their lives, and I've gotten to the point where I want to get to know people, how they really are, who they are, and what makes their souls tick. I've come to understand that, to help someone spiritually, you must first understand them spiritually, otherwise any and all attempts to help them will come to naught!"  
  
It is at this point in time that I see Jack's face light up, as though he was standing in front of an open flame. I can see the deep richness of his tanned face, and it is full of youth, vibrance, and glow. He smiles at me, and he says, "I guess we've both grown some, as people, and spiritually, as well, and we've come to understand, or at least, we've begun to come to understand what is really important in life." He puts his hand on my shoulder, as we walk away towards the upper deck, as he says, "Come on, now, we've got to get ready for Rose's party, I know, I'm not crazy about this, and neither are you, I can tell by your facial expressions, and by the way you act, and what you say, but we've got to do this for her, I mean I think she extended the offer because she saw us as real humans, and she wants to get closer to us, in her own high society way." I nod in agreement, even though, even I realize that, now, we're going to have to learn high society rules, I think to myself quite sarcastically, 'Oh, this ought to be REAL fun!' 


	14. Jasmine14

Chapter 14: Jack and Jasmine Learn How to Put Up Pretenses  
  
Needless to say, after Jack delivered his monumental speech to me, I felt much better, so I wasn't the only one who could have a spiritual impact on others! But my happiness was short lived. I heard a knock on the door, and I surmised it was ROSE! Who else would think highly enough of us to knock?  
  
"Come in," I said, "the door is open." The door slowly creaked open, as though Rose was trying to pay us a modicum of obeisance by making the gesture, as though Jack and I were Gods who deserved such pious actions! I looked at Rose, and I noticed that, today, instead of being decked up in all of her finery, she was wearing a simple white muslin shirt, tucked into a long, plain white skirt, why she looked like a washerwoman! Confused, I asked, "Rose, why are you wearing plain clothes, you looked like such a queen in your finery?!" Rose looked at me, her deep and innocent blue eyes bearing right into my soul, but not in an ominous way, rather in a very curious and childish way, she reminded me of a young and harmless child when she looked at me. She said, "Don't I ALWAYS look like a Queen?" in a tone of voice that implied that she had been somewhat hurt by my words. Her voice was so soft and benign and innocent, it reminded me of the gentle look of a young doe! I take one step back, and I look at her again, I concentrate very hard, as I am tired, and I concentrate on her entire profile, with her bright red hair, whose hues remind me of sun-ripened honey that has permanently captured the warming and golden rays of the Sun, and sure enough, I see a divine radiance, somehow projecting out of her image. But, this time, it's different, instead of seeing a high-society girl, who projects this appearance, because she is dressed up in so much finery, I see a young girl who looks beautiful and grand! On the one hand, her garments make her look so plain, but on the other hand, her beauty and radiance shines through, and her clothes just serve to give her a more natural and sublime look. Suddenly, I lapse into a trance, where I see her on a open prairie on a Sunny day. There she is, standing right in the middle of the fields of straight, golden weeds of wild wheat and hay, I take deep breaths, and a sense of calmness wash over my body as I look at her, and I can see the image in all of its vividness and clarity, as though it was real! Her hair catches my eye, as it captures the essence of the Sun, and projects it in so many bright, yet reddish honey hues, and all of a sudden, I see a surreal aura sweeping over her body, and transforming her in the process. I can see her, with her eyes shut, and her arms outstretched, raising her head, so that her face can drink in the warmth and rays of the Sun, I can see a sense of calmness and tranquility wash across her face, and suddenly, I realize that this is home for her! This is where she belongs, and a sense of knowing and tranquility washes over me as I realize that she has found her rightful place in the world! I look at her face, and I see that it has a natural tanned complexion, as though the Sun has baked her skin, in all of the appropriate ways to give her skin a natural glow! I pull out of my trance, and I say, "you're right, but you don't look like a Queen, rather, you look like a gift from God!" It is at this point in time that Rose's eyes widen, and a look of shock and startlement awashes over her face, she says, in a very startled voice, "My darling Jasmine, what do you say?" I place a comforting hand on her right shoulder, and I say, "Don't worry, Rose, some day, YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHAT I SAY?"  
  
For now, the confused look on Rose's face indicates to me that she doesn't understand what I say. Jack comes out, and looks at Rose, and a look of relief and happiness washes over his face, he says, "Why Rose.you.look natural, like somehow, the real you is showing through over all of that bogus finery that you used to wear because you wanted to cover up your real self!" It is at this point in time that I am catapulted into a rude state of understanding, for all of my ability to venture deep into the spiritual realm, it NEVER occurred to me that the finery she had been wearing was BOGUS and had served to cover up the real essence of her.then BANG, like a rock that was rudely thrown at the side of my head, a hard idea flies up from the spiritual realm and HITS ME! IT DAWNS ON ME THAT JACK HAS HIT ON THE CONCEPT I HAD BEEN SEEING THAT HAD LAIN INHERENT AND HIDDEN ALL ALONG IN ALL OF MY MEDITAITONS, ROSE HAD BEEN PUTTING UP PRETENCES BY GOING ALONG WITH ALL OF THE HOOPLA OF THE UPPER CLASS. THE UPPER CLASS HAD TRIED TO JUSTIFY THEIR FALSE AND PERCIEVED HIGHER STATUS IN SOCIETY VIA VARIOUS MECHANISMS, ONE OF WHICH WAS DONNING VERY FINE CLOTHES, AS A WAY OF ASSURING TO THEMSELVES AND TO OTHERS THAT THEIR STATUS WAS real, when in actuality, it was all perceived, it was based on the perceptions that people convince themselves are true. In reality, Cal is as much a gentleman, as I am a toad! It is only by looking beyond the artificial barriers that society teaches all of us is important that we can begin to discover our true selves, as well as the truth in society! Rose had made an important step towards liberation when she wore simple clothes, because, by doing so, she realized that it is substance and not perceived image (those who wear expensive looking and nice clothes are perceived by others to be rich and important) that is important! MY GOD! HOW WISE JACK WAS! I was also hit by another insight, because I remember one time when Prita walked into Waile's room wearing a nice, knee-length summer dress and Waile remarked, "It looks like you, with a little less dirt on your image!" In a way, that statement was a mirror image of what Jack had just told Rose!  
  
Anyway, Jack and Rose were now looking at me with a funny look on their faces, they said in unison, "Jasmine, what's wrong?" I replied, "nothing!" Rose said, "Very well, now, I know that this is going to sound very strange, but I have arranged for both of you to meet Mrs. Jones so that you can learn how to act and dress for the dinner party. You see, you both are ladies and gentleman, but no one at the dinner social will accede you to be that way, unless you learn how to act the part!" It is at this point in time that I try to fight the baubles of sarcastic laughter that are just itching to escape from my throat, as I say, "Yes, we must learn to act the way they want us to act to be accepted by them! It won't do to just act like ourselves, because these people don't understand that chivalry comes in all types, shapes, and forms!"  
  
Since we both had the day off from work, my GOD! What a rare day that was! We weren't worried that the superintendent would go looking for us to have us to tasks. Rose and the both of us walked up to the upper deck, where the privileged upper class men and women got to stay. As I was walking up the stairs, I felt as though I was a lady in waiting, and in disguise, who by some divine miracle was being invited to have a glimpse into my true standing in life. I thought this was all the more telling, because I was wearing washerwoman clothes as I was walking into a lady's room.  
  
Finally, we got to our destined place, and Rose picked up the huge brass knocker that hung on the door, and she knocked on the knocker, I could hear the thuds on the door that the knocker made. The door opened, and a very chubby, and pleasant faced middle aged woman opened the door. I noticed that she was wearing a dark rose coloured, long flowing gown, and she had her hair done up in a bun, and held up in a black net. Her hair was a warm colour of light brown, whose hues served to warm my soul. She was very friendly, "Well, hello all! My name is Fran Jones!" She was smiling at all of us, and her arms were outstretched in warm welcome, as though she wished to hug all of us. Then, suddenly, her gaze fell on me, and her smile disappeared a bit, and was replaced by a stunned look on her face. She took a few steps backwards into her room. Somehow, she looked as though she was meeting, I guess for the second, or third, or infinite time, someone that she had known long ago. I could pick up this thought by studying her facial expressions, and I thought, 'But that's impossible, because I have NEVER met this woman BEFORE!' Then, my mind raced so many years to the future, at the dawn of the 21st century, when, somehow, Prita was spiritually attracted to a man she had never known, and fell in love with him at first sight. Though she had never known him, somehow, intuition had told her, that she had indeed known him! Funny, this was the same way I felt now! Fran said, "My dear.are you Jasmine?" I reply, "How did you know my name? I don't know you!" Fran said, "My dear, I have been to India, and somehow, I swear that your face looks familiar!" I give her an expression of confusion on my face, and my facial expressions say to her, "well, I don't know what to tell you." Then, Fran gains her composure, and she sighs in relief. The smile reappears on her face, and she says, "Well, come one, come all, come right in, I hear that you're trying to dress up for a party!" There is a slight lilt in her voice as she says the words 'dress up for a party', and she is smiles as she says those words. I think to myself, 'Oh GOD, DOES SHE HAVE TO RUB THAT IN!'  
  
Fran looked at Jack, and she said, "Why you're the size of my son, I think I can shape you up with a nice suit." It is at this point in time that she leans forward, and pinches his cheek. I note that Jack scowls, and tries to move his face away from her hands, as if to indicate that he does not wish for his cheek to be pinched! I study her actions and her personality and demeanour, and I realize that while she may be rich, she certainly does not act like high society, she must be a noveau rich person! I look at her squarely in the eye, and I say, in a very innocent voice, yet directing voice, "Fran, are you part of old or new money?" Fran smiles and sighs to herself simultaneously, and she says, "Oh, Jasmine, I should have known that you'd ask that question. I'm part of 'new money' my husband hit it rich in the Klondike gold rush. Before that, we were settlers on what was left of the frontier.' Then I note her saying with a smile in her voice and a glint in her eye, 'But I'm quite enjoying my new found status!' Somehow, I figured! Then Fran looks at me, and she says, 'Now, you'd look good.in.well.in something that was.that was.divine!" I look at her squarely, and I say, "And what would that be?" Fran turns her head up into the air, as though to signify that she was in deep thought, and she says, "Well, now, I don't know, perhaps you have some ideas!" I rack my mind for ideas, 'well, I could just come as myself, wearing something like what I'm wearing now.' Then I think to myself, 'nah, I'd have hell to hear for it for the rest of my life if I did that!' Then, EUREKA! IT HITS ME! I look at her squarely in the eye, and say, with a tone of directed innocence in my voice, "how about if I wore a nice deep red sari, with lots of white starry sequins on it?" Fran jumps up, and she says, "You, know, I think you'd look divine and dashing in that!" Then Fran looks at me with a twinkle in her eye, and she says, "And you know something, I have that sari, I was waiting for the right moment to give it to you!"  
  
My face suddenly is clouded with shock, whoa, what did she say, 'I was waiting for the right moment to give it to you!' Huh, now, this was not something I was prepared for, somehow, had she known me before, well, to the best of my knowledge, I had NEVER known HER before! Fran sensed the look of confusion on my face, and she said with an I-knew-it-all-along tone in her voice, "Now dear, it will make sense to you one day, but we were once both good friends in the spiritual realm!" The only thing I can think to myself is huh? I may have a supernatural gift to see into the spiritual realm in my meditations, but I had never seen that in any of my meditations! I look at her warm medium blue eyes, and now, they are sparkling with tiny electric sparks, as though, somehow, a supernatural force was working through her body. I shook my face in sheer confusion, and a look of confusion came over my face, like cloud cover will suddenly and abruptly appear over a calm and sunny sky. For once, I was the one who was confused!  
  
Jack said to Fran in a polite tone, "Fran, I've never been fitted before for a suit, I would think it would be such fun!" Fran chuckled, and I noticed that a smile came over her warm, welcoming and round face, and she said, "Oh, you're really going to have so much fun!" I noted that when Fran smiled, her whole face lit up with a healthy glow. Fran walked into her closet, and she said, her voice trailing behind her as she spoke, "I'll be back in a minute!" Meanwhile, I seized the moment to look around the room. It was nicely done, I mean there was fine china and ceramic and pearl all over the room. Boy, some people get to live like royalty! I looked at Jack and Rose, and both had somewhat bored looks on their face, as though they were only slightly amused by what was going on. Somehow, I sensed that Fran was the only one out of all of us who was having fun! "Jack," I said, "So how do you like this?" Jack looked down at the floor, as though he was trying to indicate to Rose and I that he was bored out of his mind, and he said in a very quiet and contemplative voice, "I don't like this. I'd rather be dancing the night away, than wearing some stuffy and scratchy suit!" I was half tempted to suggest that Jack don a black salwaar kameez, but I did not. Even Rose looked uncomfortable, and the look on her face indicated to me that she was, finally, beginning to realize what she was subjecting us to, 'look." she said weakly, "I'm sorry, I never intended it to be this way, I mean I thought this was fun, a game.!" "Rose," I said, with a dead serious tone in my voice, "you think EVERYTHING is a game!" Then Rose replied with a somber tone in her voice, her voice was so small in volume and decibel as she said, "But, now, I'm realizing that that's not true!" Then she looked at us, and with a look of desperation in her eyes, she said, "but, you'll be the guests of honour at the banquet, won't you?" Both of us said in unison, "What choice do we have?"  
  
Then, Fran walked back into the room, and all of us feigned looks and attitudes of happiness and enthusiasm. She was carrying a full length suit into the room. Jack's eyes widened in amazement, and he said in shock, "you mean, I have to wear that?" Fran sang out in glee, "Of course, and you're going to love it!" Well, somehow, I doubted that one! Fran proceeded to pull off Jack's outer clothes, and Jack grunted in the process, as though to indicate that he did not like being dressed by someone else. I was beginning to sense that Jack was an independent minded person who DID NOT like the concept of having SOMEONE ELSE do the work for him! When Fran was done, she smiled at Jack, and she said, "There, now, time for the dressing up, and the trimmings!" The trimmings! My GOD, that suit was so dark grey in colour, and so heavy in appearance that it could kill a whale. That suit was a strait jacket which probably would smother all but the strongest of souls! Jack grunted as Fran began to button up his shirt, and pull the pants up his leg. I looked out of the corner of my eye, and I noticed that Rose was giggling in glee, I could see the apples of her cheeks light up with a pinkish honey glow, and her eyes lit up with a childish delight. So she thinks that this is funny! Well, in a way it was.but I don't think Jack would think that the scene was funny. I gathered that he wasn't enjoying it at all. When Fran was done, Jack looked as though he had just been manhandled, he had clearly NOT enjoyed the process.  
  
Then Fran looked at me, "Now, it's your turn." I thought to myself, 'Oh no it's not, YOU are NOT GOING TO EMBARRASS ME!' A look of concern suddenly came over Fran's face, and she said, "Is anything wrong?" I burst out, with tones of anger in my voice, "There sure is. Ok, so it's one thing to go ahead and dress up Jack as though he was a baby, but you're NOT going to follow suit with me!" Then my soul broke, and I bent my body forwards, from the waist in a sense of resignation, and I gasped. All the while, I had my hand on the dresser, as a means to support myself. Fran looked so hurt and disappointed, she said, "I thought you would enjoy this." I angrily retorted, "Enjoy this, do you think that Jack and I would enjoy being treated like BABIES. I mean, come on, it's bad enough to be ridiculed by everyone else because 'we occupy the scummiest class in society', but it's another to be treated as though we were helpless creatures because of our perceived social class. I mean, come on, I'm NOT a HELPLESS creature, rather I am a STRONG WOMAN, and I EXPECT TO BE TREATED THAT WAY!" Fran took a step backwards in shock, and she looked as though she was hurt. Then, I said, "I'm sorry, I guess I was a bit brash there." Fran said, "No, you're right, you should be dressing yourself."  
  
She disappeared back into her closet, and then reappeared, with the sari. The colours and aura of the sari blinded me. Fran had been right, the sari was a gift from heaven! The colour of red was so bright that it caught my eye, and all of a sudden, I was taken to another astral plane. I saw myself on a parallel plane, in another dimension, where all I could see was the colour red by my waist, and the colour green above it, and the colour of light beige below. I felt as though I was in heaven. Then, though I'd been trying to keep my promise to Jack of being less self-absorbed, I automatically lapsed into a vision. I could see the black cosmic fabric of time beginning to curdle, in the same way that milk will curdle when lemon juice is put in it. I see white curds of a whey like substance appearing, and suddenly, an opening in the fabric appears. There she is! Fran steps out of the fabric, and she looks radiant! Her skin glows with a white translucent glow, and her light brown hair shines with a very real aura, in fact it's so real, that when she shakes her rich hair in front of my eyes, I can see every detail, and I can see the fine fibres in the strands of her hair. She talks, and her voice resonates with a divine sound, "Jasmine, you probably don't know me, but in this realm, I am a goddess. I have come to help you, and I have come to help deliver you from your present state. Please, don't take offence to me, my dear." When she walked out of the vortex, I could see a very bright white light, which reminded me of the light of God, or the light of bright stars behind her, and it served to illuminate her entire presence and aura. The light was so bright that it blinded me, and I found myself squinting. I said, "So, how come I don't know you?" The image of Fran said, "Because I'm from another dimension." I retort, "what, you and I are in the same room on Earth, what are you talking about?" The image replies, "Like you, I am a spirit in human form." The words 'spirit in human form' resonate throughout my soul, my mind, and my body. Suddenly, somehow, all aspects and dimensions of me begin to have many flashbacks, and I am taken back to the initial transformation, when I was told that I was to under go a long and tenuous transformation process, that would render me to my true state, which was a 'spirit in human form.' All throughout my journey in the spiritual realm, the spirits, from Frederich to Youseuf, throughout the many lives that I have lived as Jasmine on Earth, and in the many spiritual realms above, have told me that I was Jasmine, and that I was a 'spirit in human form' and that I must labour to find out who Jasmine is. Then it hits me, that this is just one piece in the great cosmic puzzle in my quest to find out 'who Jasmine is.' The aura continues, "In this realm, I am not Fran, I am a very strong and powerful spiritual force, and a goddess in my own right, and I was sent by God to help you in your long and labourous struggle to free yourself from the many cages that have held you for so long, and that continue to bind you, and cause you much pain, suffering, and misery. Then, I have flashbacks again, because the defining feature of Jasmine's life had been 'cages that had held and bound her for so long, and for so many centuries, and for so many life spans.' I shudder when I think about what is happening, and I can feel some long-held, instinctual, and feral spiritual force uncoil and unfurl itself from the depths of my spine, and, somehow, force its way up to the center of my mind, body, and soul, and ultimately to my self. While this force does so, it serves to change me transmutably in ways that no one except for God could describe. The image continues, and as she is talking to me, I am held in a state of sheer transformation in the back of my mind. Somehow, I have been magically transported to the back of my mind, and now, my entire existence is in another realm, far away, where I am being permanently transformed into something else, and in the process, I am becoming my true self, which was the self that I was before I was caged and trapped by the man of darkness! The image says, "I know what you're going through, you don't know how to respond to this, because this is beyond the interpretation of even your vast and growing spiritual powers." I respond, "Do you know who the man of darkness is?" Suddenly, the image has a startled look on her face, and she steps back in fear, I can hear the tone of fear in her voice, as she says, "Do you mean Dracula?" Then my mind volleys, and in both the spiritual realm, and on Earth, I can feel a very sudden and familiar jolt rock my mind, as somehow, the pieces of enlightenment swirl around in my mind and assemble themselves to paint the beginnings of a long and tenuous story, and a very familiar picture. I respond, "Yes, I mean Dracula.he's been my sore point for a long time." A look of compassion comes over the image's face, as she says, with a tone of understanding in her voice, "Yes, I know, Dracula is related to Cal, both are in the same realm, in fact, in the spiritual realm, they plot on projects together. Though she does not know it, Rose is in as much danger from Dracula as she is from Cal. You must help deliver her from her present situation." I open my mouth, as I want to tell her, 'but, I don't even know how to liberate myself.' It is as though the image can read my mind, as she responds, "That is why I was sent here to help you." Then, she extends her arm out, and I can see that it is a wholesome white colour, with the undertones of a very rich yellowish hue, to indicate that the image is very healthy. I can see the intense white light illuminating her hand. I reach forth, and I grab her hand with mine, and I can feel the strong and the warm and comforting grip of her hand on mine, and then something happens, as I can feel a jolt taking place in all of the realms and dimensions, and I can sense that something monumental, that changes destinies is beginning to take place.  
  
I am jolted out of my stupour, and I tell Fran, "Yes, let me try the sari on." I give her a very all-knowing and confused look as I talk to her. I try the sari on, and all of a sudden, I can feel a warmth enveloping my body. Then, I am reminded of the warm and comforting hand massages Siddharth used to give me. I would swear that these massages felt like the touch of God, and this is how the warmth felt on my body. Then Rose says, "I can see it, you're lighting up with a very bright light!" Jack screamed out, "Yeah, she's right you are!" I had a very confused look on my face, "what are you talking about?" I ask. Then Fran answers my question, "You made a wise choice by choosing to wear the sari, it looks heavenly on you!" Then she said, "You're right, Jasmine, you're an independent and strong lady, and you can take care of yourself. But, I think that the sari is starting to bring out your supernatural powers!" When she said the words 'supernatural powers' her eyes lit up with a divine glow, and she looked at me with a twinkle in her eye. Also, she leaned into me as she said the words. For now, I was totally confused, but somehow, I could feel that the pieces of something greater and deeper were coming together in my body, and somehow, the ultimate answer, what in the 21st century, scientists would call 'the ultimate model that would explain everything in the universe in its entirety' was coming to me, somehow from another realm.  
  
Well, I felt as though, somehow, Jack, Rose, and I had crossed some sort of spiritual milestone. When I looked at Rose, I noticed that she was smiling at me, as was Jack, and both of them had looks of contentment on their faces, as though, somehow, through my profound spiritual experience with Fran, they had become enlightened. But, then I was very confused, because they hadn't experienced my spiritual experience with Fran, but then it hit me! Somehow, the aura from the my spiritual experience, which originated from, and emanated from the spiritual realm had reached them, and had enlightened them. Sure enough, if I looked closely on their faces, I noticed that a sort of deeper understanding and ultimate enlightenment was creeping into their souls, and manifesting itself on their faces. Even Fran was smiling at me in a healthy way, and I realized that the spiritual experience had not been for them, it had been for me! It allowed me to begin to uncage myself, for in the process, that was the way that they would be uncaged! And I realized, that far from being a noveau socialite who liked to entertain others, Fran was a very serious and helpful soul with special spiritual insights who had been put in my path to help all of us! It was through me that she was reaching to Jack and Rose, and helping them in the process!  
  
I thought to myself, 'my god, every day on The Titanic is a new experience that teaches me something new! Soon, I will get to learn how to act like an upper class lady.' Then I smile to myself, as I think, 'Oh well, that shouldn't be SO BAD!' 


	15. Jasmine15

Chapter XV: Jack and Jasmine Attend a Social  
  
Well, after my strange encounter with Fran Jones, I was left quite confused, and my mind was left pondering dozens of questions. Some of them were, "Who was Fran, and where did I meet her? To the best of my knowledge, she was a complete stranger to me." Jack and Rose were completely oblivious to my concerned mind, as Rose said, "Come now, we must go upstairs." She motioned us to come, and we followed her queue.  
  
The next night was the dreaded social, and Rose knocked on the door. I opened the door, and was blinded by the thousand plus diamonds that stood in defiance and rebellion on her Hope diamond necklace. Those diamonds appeared to say, 'Dare not to look at me, as I will blind the looker with my black magic!' Ooh, it was working, I was blinded, and I squinted my eyes, and moved my gaze to the left. Rose looked stunning. She was wearing a dark wine rose, low-cut evening gown. The colour in the gown brought out the wine rose colour in her cheeks. "Rose," I gasp, "why did you wear that necklace?" Rose looked confused and she said, "Do you not like it?" I responded, while keeping my gaze away from that damn thing, so not to be blinded by it, "Yes, I like it, but the gaze is too intense. It has an artificial and surreal beauty to it, which compels the looker to gaze into it. But when the looker gazes into it, the gazer is forever blinded by its power!" Rose looked confused, and her innocent words pierced into my soul, "I don't understand." she said, her voice sounding as gentle as the look of a young doe. I respond, "You don't have to understand now, but one day, it will make sense to you." Jack came out of the room, and he was wearing the suit. I giggled when I saw him, because he looked so haphazard. I mean, he was dressed like a gentleman, but he looked like a misfit in the suit! He glared at me when he caught my gaze, and he said, with a stern look in his eyes that said, 'bug off!' "Ok, so I don't look distinguished, but this wasn't my idea, so lay off!" I respond, with a startled look in my eyes, "Jack, I wasn't saying anything." He cut me off in a sharp tone, "It wasn't what you were saying verbally, it was what you were implying non-verbally with your look." Jack looked into the necklace, and he put his right hand over his eyes to shield it from the sheer power of the necklace, he said, while gasping and panting, as though facing physical difficulty when trying to defend himself from the power of the necklace, "Rose, why did you have to wear that damned necklace?" Rose backed away from us, and she looked like she was about to cry, she said in a very hurt voice, "I though you would like it!" I note how the sweet tones of her voice laid itself to rest on our souls, as an innocent child's voice would. We respond in unison, our voices gathering strength as they reverberate off of each other, "Yes, it's nice, I guess, but the damned thing is so strong it blinds everyone who looks at it. It's almost like you have to try physically to not get possessed by it. I don't know what it is, but there's something about the necklace that bewitches and curses people. It has a surreal, but haunting beauty, and sheer power, that compels people to look at it, but when they do, suddenly, they are captured by the power of the necklace, and the magic of the necklace, which must be black, pulls the souls into its center and essence, thus entrapping it forever, in much the same way that a venus fly trap uses its appearance to entice, and then to ensnare insects into it!" Rose backed away, looking very confused, and she said, "I don't understand what you say at all! For me it's a nice necklace, and I like to wear it!" She looked at us with a tone of defiance and self-confidence in her voice. But I wasn't sure that either one were real.  
  
I said to her, in a soul-piercing voice, "Rose, do you REALLY LIKE that necklace?" She looked at me with innocence in her eyes, and she said, "Well, yes.well.ok.I'll admit, I don't like it. I just wear it to showoff. For me, it's a nice accessory and nothing more. I wear it because I feel like a princess in it, and because I am encaptured by its beauty. But it holds no real magic for me. I don't feel special in it, instead, I feel like a nice ACCESSORY in it." I say, "Is that what you want?" Rose answers, "No, but." Then she looks at me with an air of confidence in her voice, and she says, "I know, from now on, I'll look like a REAL princess, I'll wear the necklace YOU gave me!" I sigh, I had been hoping she wouldn't say that, but at least I know she's on the right track.  
  
Rose says, "Ok, these parties are really quite fake. You'll be accepted if you talk about all of the money you have. The more money you have, the better and the sooner these people will accept you into their lives. I go to these parties all the time, and." Her voice trails sadly as she says, "I hate them!" Then she looks at me with a fierceness of burning fire in her eyes, as she continues, "I mean, I go to the same BORING parties all of the time. I go to the same socials, and I meet the same boring people, and I wear the same boring clothes, and I wear the same damned necklace Cal gave me. Honestly, I HATE it, the only thing it serves to do is to remind me of the cages I am in, and of my inferiority,,," I gasp and gulp in pain, because I have been in cages for all of my life, and her words serve to give me flashbacks of this. She looks at me with a smile in her eyes, and she says, "Cheer up, Jasmine, you're a princess!" Yeah, well I sure didn't feel like one now!  
  
Jack rolls his eyes and he looks at me, "Well, Jasmine, are you ready to put up pretenses, and to pretend to be someone you aren't?" I nod in affirmative, then I chuckle to myself, as I think it's quite ironic that Jack and I have to pretend to be accepted by society, such a society is fake, indeed.  
  
"Let me tell you where the blood that runs this city comes from, it comes from the villages."  
  
These were the words that MK. Gandhi, India's spiritual leader, who is credited with freeing India from British rule said, in regard to rule by the British and nobility in India. However, it could have easily have applied to this situation, if the word 'city' had been replaced by 'upper class' and the word 'villages' had been replaced by the word 'commoners'. This was apparent to me as I walked up into the upper hall, where the upper classes were eating. The finery of the place, and the nice lights blinded me. I was awe struck by what I saw!  
  
The lights, from the electric light bulbs completely blinded my eyes, and I found myself squinting, as did Jack. We scanned the table for people we knew, no one, but then we both saw Fran Jones, and we breathed a sigh of relief. Fran winked at us, to signify that she acknowledged our presence, and then she motioned for us to sit next to her. I saw that there was ornate fare, from all parts of the world on the table tops of the elite, and I began to tug at my sari in discomfort, because I did not feel as though I fit in. Though my sari was ornate, exquisite, and SPECIAL, I did not feel as though I was 'dressed up enough' for the event, seeing as all of the 'ladies' were decked up in their silk, and velvet and nice jewels. WELL, I COULDN'T AFFORD JEWELS!  
  
Jack and I saw down, one on each side of Fran. I sat on Fran's right side, and Jack on her left. Somehow, her presence served to calm us down, and let us know that 'everything was ok'. I felt a sense of real spiritual relief washing over me as I sat down next to her. It was as though, somehow, I could feel God cleansing my soul, and rejuvenating it with his 'magical' hand, which emanated from Fran's presence. Anyway, I could feel a burning sensation piercing through my heart. I looked up, and I saw the evil red gaze of nefarious fire burnishing and burning through Cal's gaze piercing my flesh, and making its way through my heart. I felt quite uncomfortable, because I sensed that this was the type of gaze that was meant to destroy souls. I swore that Cal looked at his opponents in much the same way a hungry hawk looks at its prey: in a very studious and cunning manner, with the intent to destroy it! I noticed that Cal was looking at Jack as well. The intensity of his glare lessened, and I could see that some of the redness was disappearing from his eyes, but I knew that Cal could sense that, somehow, Jack was in on the plan to free Rose, and HE DIDN'T LIKE IT! He studied Jack with such a gaze that I could sense that Jack was beginning to feel QUITE uncomfortable. In fact, were it not for the presence of Fran, which served to neutralize Cal's deadly gaze, we would have felt as though we were going to die at the dinner table! I looked at Fran, and I noted, that somehow, she had a very strong spiritual aura, and a very down-to-Earth quality. She was like that friendly next- door neighbour that anyone could relate to. She's the kind of person who would help a person out at 1:00 A.M., regardless of the problem. And this was what made her unacceptable to the other 'high society molting pigeons, I'm sorry, matrons.' I could not help but notice that the other ladies were looking at her as though she was a fish out of water. But, somehow, this did not bother her. She just stood still, and kept her composure, as though nothing out of the ordinary was happening. I noted that Cal was staring at Fran quite nervously. Cal didn't like change, and that's exactly what Fran was, change. Fran challenged the status quo of 'old money' because she had come from the new moneyed elite, and Cal had a hard time accepting this, because, like the other matrons of 'high society' he had a hard time accepting anyone who did not conform to the narrow and strict rules and regulations that made up high society, at least, at that place in time. For people like Cal, it was not enough to act and dress like a lady or a gentleman to be considered a gentleman. For people like him, a person must have money, status, prestige, and honour, and must conform to the rules of society, and must think with a very narrow minded point of view. I could sense that Fran had a rebellious nature and spirit that was going to challenge the very rules and regulations and 'accepted traditions' of the 'elite class' because she wasn't just 'new money', rather, she was 'new thinking', because she was very spiritual in nature, which was a trait, that for all of their perceived social standing, all of the people sitting at the table lacked. These people did not realize that it was soul, behaviour, and talent, nature of heart, the ability to have a heart, and intent, as well as caring abilities, character, moral standing, and stature, and personality, and many other traits that made people ladies and gentlemen. When I looked at these people, I could see a whole bunch of insecure evil spirits, who were desperately clinging to their perceived and ill-gotten titles, because that was the only way they felt they could gain importance in this world. For all of their stature and their supposed ability to control the world and stop people like me and Jack and Fran from upsetting their narrow status quo, they realized, deep down inside that they had as much control over us, as anyone does over the weather. They realized, ultimately that God, though they didn't like to accede that such an entity existed, even though many of them claimed to be practicing Christians, decided what happened, to a large extent in life, and that any distortions humans try to put in the natural balance of society tend to be corrected by God, and the spiritual forces. Since these people didn't like to recognize that such forces existed, they were very nervous by the presence of the three of us, because that was what we represented. Also, Cal HATED the idea that we MIGHT be pulling Rose towards that end.  
  
I was feeling quite uncomfortable, myself, so I decided to take my cues from Fran, and I decided to use her spiritual strength to buffer myself from any ammunition that these people could use to hurt us, from an emotional, or a spiritual standpoint. I look at Rose, who is supposed to stand tall and proud by her fiancee's side. Instead, she is looking quite small, and insecure, and nervous by Cal's left side. She seems to have shrunk in her own image, and she, disinterestedly, picks at her peas. I realize that she is miserable in her life. She has come to hate these parties, and she wants a way out. She may look stately, and like a classic princess in the garments she's wearing, but I realize that this is quite fake. She has a very natural aura to her, and she is the type of person who should be frolicking about on an open plain, where she can run with the rebellious and free-spirited nature of her soul. I sense, that here, she is trapped in her place. Suddenly, I choke because the word 'trapped' reminds me of the ordeal that I have been in for centuries. I remember who has been trapping me, and then I REMEMBER WHAT FRAN HAS TOLD ME. IT IS AT THIS POINT IN TIME THAT FRAN, SUBTLY, LOOKS TOWARDS ME, AND LOOKS AT ME WITH A SMILE ON HER FACE, AND A TWINKLE IN HER EYE, AS IF TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I FINALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON! SHE WHISPERS TO ME SUDDENLY, 'ATA GIRL, JASMINE, YOU GOT IT!' BUT, THEN I AM REMINDED OF THE WAY THAT SIDDHARTH AND WAILE LOOKED AT PRITA, BOTH OF THEM GAVE HER A SIMILAR LOOK, AND I REALIZE THAT, IN SOME WAYS, THIS IS AS MUCH A PART OF PRITA'S STRUGGLE AS IT IS OF MINE!  
  
I look at Rose, and our eyes meet, she smiles at me, and her eyes lock in a look with mine, to signify that she understands what is going on, and what must be done to liberate us all from this artificial trap. Anyway, Jack is looking quite insecure, and uncomfortable. He looks to me for support, and I give him a supportive smile. Suddenly he perks up, and I can sense his spiritual energy level is rising. I look at the way that Cal looks at Jack, and chills run up my spine, because I realize that though Jack doesn't realize it, it is he, and not me who is #1 on Cal's hit list. I mean, it has finally clicked to Cal, and I can tell by looking into his dark eyes, that Jack is Rose's soul mate. This makes Cal feel very insecure, because he doesn't want Rose to wake up spiritually. He would like Rose to stay in the dark forever. After all, from his standpoint, what Rose doesn't know can't hurt her! Cal flashes back to the incident when Rose hocked a lugi at him, in his eye, and how, IT IS ALL MAKING PERFECT SENSE TO HIM! SOMEHOW, I CAN SENSE SOMETHING CLICKING IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM FOR CAL, AND HE DOESN'T LIKE WHAT HE IS DEDUCING. SUDDENLY, HE SHOOTS ME A GAZE THAT COULD KILL, AND THIS GAZE SAYS, 'JASMINE, I KNOW YOU'RE BEHIND THIS, AND LAY OFF!" I am not prepped for this, and chills run up my spine, and I feel quite nervous, however, Fran calms me down, when she places a comforting hand on mine, which serves as a balm that calms and soothes my soul. I can sense that Cal is now, just waiting to plot and plan his next moves against Jack, much to my dismay. The rest of the dinner party will center on Cal trying to discredit all of us, so that he can convince Rose that we're quacks.  
  
It looks as though Cal has moved in for first base, he looks at Jack, and says, "So, Jack, what do you do?" in a very intimidating voice that's meant to put Jack on the spot. I know that Jack is very creative, and will know how to manouvre out of this one. My mind flashes back to Rose's initial statement, that appears to be reverberating off of every brain cell in my brain, thereby creating echoes, 'just talk about how much money you have.' Jack puts down his butter knife and he says, "Well, I own a clothing factory in Canada. My father is a successful clothier, and we have a new line of clothes coming out called 'Dawson's pride."' I sigh to myself in relief. I picture Jack moving his chess pieces around a board game that Cal has rigged to win, and so far Jack has outsmarted Cal. I notice that Fran is smiling in relief and approval to Jack. Cal says, in a voice that reflects suppressed anger and violence, "Ok, Mr. Dawson." I note that the word 'Dawson' echoes off of my spine, sending chills up it in the process. I look at Rose, and I notice that she winces as well. "How come I have never seen nor heard of this clothing line?" Jack coolly replies, "Well, it's a noveau line of clothing that only people who are into new fashion would buy." After he says this, he smiles at Cal, who is smarting at the idea of being bested by a commoner? In the board game, I see Jack putting his chess pieces in front of Cal's, yet again. I also see that the people surrounding us, instead of being condescending judges are acting as 'cheerleaders' to cheer Jack on. Fran smiles, and squeezes Jack's hand in support, as if to say, 'Good work!' Cal says, "Well, I know everyone in Canada, so how come I have never HEARD of YOU?" Jack replies, "Well, you probably know all of the major players in Canada, but we buy through regional guys, and we sell to niche markets in Europe, America, and India, and China, and other places." I shiver, as the word 'India' sends chills up my spine, and I flash back to Fran's sayings that she had met me earlier in 'India.' I wonder if THAT is how she met me? Anyway, the cheerleaders are egging Jack on. Also, Jack has Cal cornered with his chess pieces, but if I know anything about Cal, he is going to have a few tricks up his sleeve. Cal says, "Oh, but if you sell in the colonial world, then how can you be RICH, remember that they can't buy anything?" Jack laughs out loud, and he says, "It depends on which 'they' you are talking about. If you are talking about the natives, then you might be right about that one. But we sell on contract to the British government, and being with all of the wars that Britain is fighting, and the fact that many mills in England are state owned, our demand never drops. We also sell to the rich all over the world, and we sell to governments and corporations, who are always thirsting for our products. You see, you haven't heard of us, because we sell to niche markets. We also buy our cloth from the colonies, and this is why we are able to sell and operate the way that we do. We are rich because we are frugal, and we keep our costs down!" I note that he winces as he says the word 'colonies' I wince too, because I know that Imperialism is slavery and encagement by another name. I note that Jack is trumping Cal, and that he is beginning to take some of Cal's chess pieces away from him. Much to Cal's consternation, the cheerleaders are rooting and egging Jack on, even though, in Cal's eyes, Jack is a no one, because of his perceived social standing. However, Cal can see, that Jack is clearly very clever, and that, since Jack has bested him, there is no way that he can convince his peers that Jack is a no one. Cal can sense that everyone at the table is beginning to think highly of Jack, due to his wit and ingenuity. Even Rose is smiling at approval at Jack. Cal notices this and this HURTS, because Rose NEVER looks that way at him!  
  
Anyway, Cal is not about to give up, not YET, anyway! Cal responds, "Well, are you thinking of expansion?" Now he is smiling at Jack, as if to signify that he has Jack trapped, and he knows it, well, not quite! Jack simply has a relaxed look on his face, and he has picked up his chess piece, and is looking for the opportune place to put it on the chess board. He says, "Well, no, not yet, I think we're going to wait a few years before we do that." Now I can see that Jack has tried an unconventional move. Cal tried a sticky move on him, and Jack responded by taking a first strike offensive. He did not confront Cal head on, rather, he decided to answer the question by not answering it. In terms of the chess board, all he did was move away from Cal, to a safer place. Now, the audience can see that Jack has real talent, and they are really rooting for Jack. Jack is basking in his glory. And I notice that Fran is squeezing his hand in approval, 'Atta boy, you're doing good' she whispers to him in kindly support. But Cal is not yet finished. He says, "Well, why don't you want to expand?" And now, he leans in towards Jack, his eyes piercing right through Jack's soul, as he asks in a soul-penetrating, and very low voice, "Is it that you can't afford it, because you don't have a business?" Then he leans back in his chair in self-content. But Jack knows how to manoevre, he says, "Well no, we have a business, but we're going to wait to see what happens in the market. I hear there might be a war soon, and if that happens, business will expand dramatically for us. I mean, if we expand now, we may well be building excess capacity, and that's not sound business!" I notice that the words 'that's not sound business' pierce my soul, and I realize that Jack is SMART! He has the insight of educated and experienced business people, although he is neither! I really admire Jack for his mettle. I see that the people fully support him, and they are throwing their full gaze and support behind him and not Cal. I see that Jack has trumped Cal completely, and has forced Cal to surrender the game. Jack now has all of Cal's chess pieces. GOOD GAME JACK, my eyes say, as I shoot him a smile of approval. I look at Rose, and I notice that, even, she is looking at Jack with approval, and her eyes are shining with a sincere admiration. I pause to myself, because I have noticed that ROSE HAS NEVER LOOKED AT ANYONE WITH THIS LOOK IN HER EYES BEFORE! She looks GOOD with that look in her eyes!  
  
Well, it's getting late, so the people are filing out of the room. Suddenly, there is no one left in the room. I note that Cal is glaring at me, and he gets up, and walks towards my direction. I am confused. "Get up!" he commands Rose, while barking. Rose is confused, and she stays put for a while. Then, I feel it! I scream out in pain. Cal has just raked a steak knife across my right wrist and it hurts! Cal says, "Bon Apetit!" He looks at all of us with a cold, hard gaze, and he has a very self- centred smirk on his lips, as if to say, "I've got you!" Cal walks out of the room, as though nothing happened, and Jack looks at me, and he screams out in concern, "Are you all right?" Then other people begin to filter into the room. I look at the blood oozing out of the wound. Rose gasps, and says, "Jasmine, what can I do?" I say, "Give me a glass of water." Jack hands me a glass of ice cold water, and I plunk a handkerchief in it. Then I remember the energy centring techniques that God and Krishna, and other spiritual entities taught me, and I begin to chant words and phrases out of the 'book of life', and I begin to remember the essence of Sanjeevani, the art of bringing the dead back to life. Suddenly, I can feel the spirits from beyond aggregating through the vortex of my soul, and I can fee the spiritual energy emanating from God concentrating around my wound, and I can fee the energy beginning to close the wound. I can feel the soothing sensation of relief and healing, as I can feel adhesions beginning to rectify themselves naturally. All the while, I get a vision from God, in which I see God, who is made out of light energy, and is in the image of a benign and older man. Lord Krishna is by his side, and both of them say, "Jasmine, you are reaching Nirvana, the eternal state of bliss. Please remember that this is an exercise in soul strengthening. Far from your soul being weakened by this event, it will actually be renewed. Please remember that this is one step in the long process towards the liberation of the soul." Then God puts his right hand on my right shoulder, and I can feel the intensity of the heat energy going right down to my right wrist, and I can see myself looking at the aura of God, which occupies the horizontal plane of eternity, and God says, "In the end we know who plays fair and folly. We know you are playing fair, and we have come to help you. Though it may not seem like it, we always come for those who are fair, and punish those who are folly. Keep up the good work!" With that he leaves. Jack tugs at my hand, and asks, "Are you alright?" I show Rose and Jack my right wrist as testament. They see that it has fully healed, and they say, "It's a miracle, I mean, how did it happen." Then Fran smiles, she looks at me and she says, "God has come through Jasmine. It is Jasmine who will free us. Then, she will use what she has learned by freeing us to free all of humanity for all time and eternity!" 


	16. Jasmine16

CH XVI: Jack and Rose Begin To Understand Each Other  
  
Rose was a bit shaken by the 'mishap' that had happened to me at the dinner. She was quite shocked, and didn't know what to make of it. She had always known that there was something that wasn't right about Cal, but she had had no idea that Cal would resort to dirty means to protect his image. She had always viewed Cal as a gentleman, but his showdown with me had revealed to her that he was nothing but an evil person.  
  
It was early morning, and Rose stirred out of bed. She looked around her. 'Good,' she thought to herself, 'Cal is gone!' It was becoming more and more clear to her, by each passing day, that Cal never paid attention to her, and honestly, couldn't care less if she rotted out in some gutter somewhere! A lump formed in Rose's throat, as it always did, when she thought about THAT disturbing thought. Her mind was a flurry of thoughts, that were entering and exiting her mind at warp speed, confusing her in the process. Suddenly, Rose felt as though her brain was going to explode, and she thought to herself in desperation, 'Oh bother, I think I'll get dressed and go outside, to lounge out, as usual.' She sighed with resentment as she thought about the last two words of her thought: as usual. 'As usual, my life is dreary and boring!' she thought to herself in frustration. She thought, 'Most people envy me because I can afford to live a life of leisure, but, honestly, sometimes, my life is so empty and so lacking in purpose, that it feels like torture. Sometimes, I wish I was like Jasmine and had to work my fingers to the bone for a living, because, at least, then, I would FEEL AS THOUGH MY LIFE HAD SOME PURPOSE, AND I WOULD FEEL A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT THAT I WAS MAKING WORTHWHILE CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIETY, AND EARNING MY OWN LIVING, INSTEAD OF HAVING EVERYTHING HANDED TO ME ON A SILVER PLATTER. SOMETIMES, IT'S A CURSE TO HAVE EVERYTHING HANDED TO YOU, BECAUSE YOU'RE CONSTANTLY REINFORCED WITH THE NIGGLING NEGATIVE FEELING OF GUILT THAT YOU'RE NOT EARNING WHAT YOU POSSESS, AND YOU'RE NOT EARNING YOUR LIVELIHOOD!'  
  
In any case, Rose decided to get dressed. However, it was at this point in time that she was faced in a quandary. On the one hand, she liked fancy clothes, and on the other hand, she realized that they were fake. Besides, she knew that she had to wear fancy clothes, because she was still viewed by those in important positions, as being a 'high society' girl, and therefore, she had to project the 'proper' image. She sighed, and thought to herself, 'At least, I can dress down a little!' She then put on a nice, long, black satin skirt, and a white, starched, muslin shirt. She threw a black knit woolen cashmere shawl over the top. She had black kid gloves on her hands, so that she could look like a 'lady.' She moved towards the door, and she placed her hand on the door knob. She turned the doorknob, and thus, opened the door. However, she moved into the doorway, and then, she turned about face, so that her back was to the outside hall, and she was looking at the room. She felt a sense of pain tearing away at her heart as she surveyed her room, for what, to her, appeared to be the last time. This was the last time she would view her room as 'Rose DeWitt- Bukater', from now on, she would be undergoing a profound spiritual metamorphosis that would completely change the way she viewed the world, and in the process, render her a different person. She sighed in a sense of resignation as she looked at the room. The room began to become blurry, and when she looked at the bright white light that emanated from the light bulbs, which were powered by electric power, the light pierced her eyes with such intensity that it blinded her! She found herself placing both of her palms in front of her eyes, in a gesture of shielding herself from the potent power from the artificial lights, which, right now, seemed to be accosting her eyes with intense ferocity. Why, if she didn't know any better, SHE WOULD SWEAR THAT THE LIGHTS WERE TRYING TO DESTROY HER! She shuddered at the thought, because it had never occurred to her that THE ROOM THAT SHE WAS STAYING IN WAS PART OF THE TRAP TO KEEP HER SUBJUGATED TO HER CURRENT POSITION. IT WAS NOW DAWNING ON HER, THAT IF SHE EVER WISHED TO EXPERIENCE FREEDOM, SHE MUST SEVER ALL TIES AND ATTACHMENTS TO HER PRESENT LIFE, WHICH INCLUDED THIS ROOM. SHE COULD FEEL A SUPERNATURAL AND CHOKING FORCE SURROUNDING HER LOWER RIB CAGES AND TIGHTENING ITS GRIP AROUND HER, UNTIL SHE SWORE SHE WAS SUFFOCATING! SHE REALIZED THAT THERE WAS SOME UNSEEN SUPERNATURAL AND EVIL POWER, EMANATING FROM THE ROOM THAT WAS TRYING TO KEEP HER IN HER PRESENT STATE. She thought to herself, 'If I ever want to escape from my life, I can no longer associate with anything in my present life, and I must make any thoughts and memories that I have associated with this room distant!' It was then that she walked out of the door, taking great care to close and lock the door behind her. Then she walked out into the hallway, and onto the upper deck.  
  
She walked onto the upper deck, and she felt happy and healthy. The Sun was shining, rather weakly, considering that The Titanic was in the middle of the North Sea, where sunshine is not very strong at any time of the year. However, she could feel the faint rays from the Sun bathing her body in warmth. She looked up at the yellow sphere that was burning bright in the sky, with a ferocious intensity, and she squinted her eyes, because the rays from the Sun were AMAZINGLY BRIGHT! She could feel the slight and chilly nip from the wind briskly nipping at her cheeks, perking them, and her soul up in the process.  
  
Jack and I were up by one of the turrets, and we were cleaning the turret, as our superintendent had instructed. Upon seeing the two of us, Rose's eyes lit up with such a white and intense light, that I swore some sort of supernatural spirit was causing her eyes to shine. I also note that her entire face lit up with a warm and light yellow light, that reflected happiness. In this way, it made her entire face look quite Sunny and healthy in appearance. She called out to us, picking up her feet, and running towards us quite briskly along the way, "Jack, Jasmine, how fare you?" I called out to her, "Nothing, we're just cleaning this damn thing." I felt quite resentful, because it did take quite an effort to bring the cleaning supplies up to the post of the turret, and I have a small frame, so I got tired easily. Therefore, Jack had to help me, or else my body would have given out. She looked directly at Jack, and she said, "How about if I were to climb up on the turret, and help you clean?" Suddenly, Jack's eyes narrowed, and I could sense a dead serious look, which reflected the thought of, 'Oh my God! Did she JUST SAY WHAT I THOUGHT SHE DID? SHE'S NUTS, WE'LL GET IN TROUBLE IF WE LET HER DO IT!' I nodded my head at Jack, to signify to him that I agreed with him. Meanwhile, a lump had formed in my throat, and I felt as though I was choking, as I thought to myself, 'Well, for all of Rose's sayings about growing up and realizing life's not a game, she's done it again! She hasn't learned, and she still thinks life is a game! I mean, does she realize that WE'RE GOING TO GET IN TROUBLE IF WE'RE CAUGHT BY THE SUPERINTENDENT WITH HER UP ON THE TURRET?' However, Rose was down on the deck calling out, with her blue eyes dancing with a mischievous type of glee and joy, "So, when are you going to lift me up?" I noted that she zeroed in her gaze on Jack and placed special emphasis on the word you as she was talking to us. Jack asked me, with a tone of desperation in his voice, while his eyes were reflecting resignation and a sense of frustration, and his shoulders were slouched in wards, slightly, to reflect his current mood of frustration and resignation, "So, what do we do?" I said, in a sarcastic tone, that was meant to reflect a type of sarcastic jest, and frustration, "Well, we could just ignore her." Then, Jack caught my right wrist in his hand, in a firm and dead serious grip. This tone of seriousness was reflected in his eyes, which snapped with intensity, and in his voice, which reflected an iron hard steeliness to it, "Are YOU kidding! I mean, we'll look like LUNATICS. We have to oblige to her wishes." He sighed, and I noticed his voice was trailing as he said the last part of his sentence. I sighed to myself in frustration, as I thought, 'How is it that Rose can get away with having ALL of her wishes fulfilled. I mean, there's no way anyone would do for me what we're doing for her.' I knew that there was no point in griping about an unfair system, because life is meant to be equitable and NOT fair, but I do feel resentful when I've got to dance to someone else's tunes ALL of the time!  
  
I saw Jack getting ready to shimmy down the turret. He said, "Jasmine, you clean, I'll handle this!" I sighed, and I said, "As you wish, sire." I saw Jack shimmy down the turret. He was on the deck, and I saw him approaching Rose. I could sense something profound and magical happening as he was approaching Rose. For the first time in their lives, Jack and Rose were beginning to see each other eye to eye, and were beginning to see each others' souls for what they really were! I smiled to myself, because I realized that this is a profound spiritual milestone that few humans in this world can cross!  
  
I was still keeping my promise to Jack not to delve into constant meditations, however, I did turn up my extrasensory powers a notch, and I used these powers to sense what was going on between Jack and Rose. Rose smiled at Jack, and she lowered her eyes, in a sign of affection, and demureness. I saw Jack smile, when he saw Rose, and I could sense him thinking, 'Boy! It was worth shimmying down the pole for THIS experience!' I saw him smile, and I sensed a look of happiness come over his face, and most notably, his eyes! He gasped to himself in happiness, out loud. He puttered around a bit, in shyness, as though he was in love with Rose, and felt bashful about the feeling, and didn't quite know how to express it. He said, "So Rose, you look quite beautiful today." I sensed that these words echoed off of every cell in Rose's brain, thus touching her heart and soul in her process, because the brain is the chemical control room for the soul. I sensed a sense of relief coming over Rose's face, as I sensed that she was smiling. I could see the rose flush of love wash over her face, and I could sense that her eyes were drifting up towards her head, and I could sense that her eyes were lighting up with the bright electricity of love. She was feeling a sense of relief and deliverance wash over her whole body, and it was at this point in time that she knew that she had found her soul mate. Suddenly, this experience had triggered a chemical wash over her entire brain. The process was slow and subtle, but it was conspiring to rewire her entire brain chemistry, thus rendering her to become a new person. She sighed deep sighs of relief and contentment, because she was understanding that SHE was reaching Nirvana, the eternal state of bliss! "Jack," she said, "I love you. I know you think I'm some sort of naieve fool who thinks life is nothing but a game." Then I sensed her eyes burn with an intensity that reflected seriousness as she finished her sentence, "but I KNOW better! Of course life is not a game. It's just that I've been thinking about my life, and I've realized that THERE IS NO PURPOSE TO MY LIFE. I mean, I may live a life of leisure, but I feel as though I don't exist. I mean, I feel as though my lifestyle actually leads to ennui and sloth! I, now feel that living a life of leisure may be a crime, spiritually speaking." Suddenly, I found myself gasping as she said the words, 'spiritually speaking', because it was beginning to dawn on me, that far from being a girl who never changes, she was actually a girl who was realizing the true essence and order of life! She was learning the most fundamental rules and lessons, and essences of life, and I WAS HAPPY FOR HER! I found myself smiling, and I could hear every word that I said, when I said to myself, "YES, SHE'S FINALLY GETTING IT!" I then lowered my right hand forcefully, in a gesture of victory. Rose continued, "I mean, I feel as though I've got no purpose to my life the way I'm living it now." It was at this point in time that her eyes reflected a sense of loss, and helplessness, which reminded me of the way that a suffering baby will look. I could see the sense of desperation reflected in her eyes, as she said, "I mean, I wanted to help you clean the turret, because I realize that far from being useless to society, you're actually VALUABLE workers to society. I mean, it's your work that gives you a sense of purpose in life, and that's all I wanted, a sense of purpose. I thought I may gain it by doing honest work!" I noticed that she has both of her hands raised in front of her chest and clenched together in an upside down V-shape, as though she's praying, or begging!  
  
It is then that Jack's persona, and the expression on his visage changes. As he approaches Rose, he realizes that he has entered a different astral plane. In the ancient world, it was common knowledge amongst educated people that the world is split up into numerous vertical and horizontal planes. Each of these planes were composed of infinite number of points, and the points were really clusters of energy, which emanated from God. In this way, the clusters of energy intersected all living things. And therefore, all living things, had the potential to be touched with 'the energy from God and the spirits.' Jack's orientation and perception of the physical realm was changing. Suddenly, he was no longer on The Titanic. His entire perception of reality had changed, and suddenly, he saw and sensed that he was a prince! He thought to himself, 'Yes, I am no longer a dockboy! Instead, I am a REAL GENTLEMAN!' He could feel the orbs of happiness rise up through out his body. He could feel these little points of light energy, which glowed with an invisible golden-white glow, becoming activated in his body, thus elevating him to a transcendental state. He smiled in happiness, and his entire face reflected a golden glow, which looked like the light from the Sun. He gently picked up Rose's right hand in his left, and he raised it up to his lips. It is at this point in time that he gently pecked his lips on her hand. Rose shuddered in happiness when she felt this. Somehow, she could feel a very gentle and pleasant state of calm, and bliss, and happiness, which she sensed was coloured with a golden hue, and was lit up with many of the 'magical' points, washing over her. His kiss, to her, felt as though a strong spiritual and supernatural force, emanating from God was reaching down, and brushing her hand with its fingers. It was at this point in time that I shuddered, because the experience Rose was having reminded me of the EXPERIENCE THAT PRITA HAD WHEN SHE MET SIDDHARTH, AND WAS PUT ON HER PATH TO SPIRITUAL SELF DISCOVERY. PRITA SWORE, WHEN SIDDHARTH HAD GIVEN HER HAND MASSAGES, THAT SOMEHOW, GOD, AND NOT SIDDHARTH WAS REACHING OUT TO HER.  
  
Jack's facial expression became quite tender - it was as though, somehow, the spirit that was waking up in his heart was being reflected on his face! I was so shocked by this, that somehow, I felt as though I had been jolted out of my present state of consciousness by SOME SUPERNATURAL FORCE! Jack said, in a very kind and tender voice, which I knew was meant to touch Rose's heart, "Rose honey.you look smashing! I'll take you up on the turret, if you want!" I could sense that Jack had a very tender look in his eyes, his were glowing with a soft yellow light, which reflects true love. Rose said, "Let's go up on the hull." I must comment that when the two were talking to each other, their voices seemed to echo with a deepness and distantness that made it sound as though the voices were coming from another dimension. Now, passersby simply noted that a deck boy was talking to a 'high society girl'! Jack's eyes reflected a sense of mesmerism and hypnosis. He said in a very soft voice, "Ok -"  
  
Jack and Rose walked over to the hull, which was exactly parallel and opposite to me in physical orientation and direction. In fact, it was to the right side of me. Since, I am a right-handed person, it was in the direction of my innate tendency to look over and notice things. So, I simply shifted my gaze right. I decided to look and sense now, instead of simply sensing. I saw that Jack was helping Rose get up on the hull. "Here honey," Jack said as he took Rose's right hand, and helped her up, by lifting up her body, while using her right hand as a fulcrum upon which to, gently, balance the rest of her body mass on. I noted that, while he was doing this, Rose had rested her feet in some of the crannies on the hull, so that she could position her body in such a place that it would be moving with the force of gravity, and with the force of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. After Rose and Jack were on the hull, and they had moved towards the front of it, so that they were facing the North Sea, Jack placed his arms around Rose's waist. He said, "Darling.don't you simply feel as though you were free here?" Jack leaned his face in so that his eyes were meeting Roses. Jack's eyes were wide, and blue and expressive, and were full of love and affection. It was this expression that touched Rose's heart, and reminded her of the expression that little puppies will give their masters. It was then that Rose spread her arms out wide, and sank her chest deeper into Jack's, taking deep breaths all the while. When I looked at Rose's body position, I realized that Rose had spread her arms out, so that her finger tips on each hand were pointed out into the opposite direction. I realized that this is how birds position their wings when they are flying. Indeed, when I looked at Rose I saw that she was in a state of deep relaxation and enlightenment! I could see the Sun washing its rays over her face, lighting it up with a slight golden hue, as it did so. I also noted that Rose's head and body was firmly positioned up against Jack's chest, and I noted that she was smiling. A spiritual sensation came over me, and suddenly, I could see an invisible spirit, who looked exactly like Rose, except for it was a holographic image, come out of her body, and begin to spread her wings, AS THOUGH SHE WAS FLYING!  
  
It was then that I felt a sudden jolt, as though somehow, I had been zapped by an electric current. My mind flew back to the picture that I had seen that Jack had painted of him and Rose on the Hull! 'Why,' I thought to myself, 'That picture looks exactly like this scene, down to the FINEST details!' I concentrated on that picture as hard as I could, and I could see the entire picture becoming brighter in its hues, and more realistic in its appearance. I could especially see the golden light from the Sun, as the atoms and molecules in the sky and the clouds were reflecting the light energy photons from the Sun, thus serving to disperse the photons all throughout the sky, and give the sky a very divine and surreal blue colour, with a golden hue. Suddenly, the light from the Sun became so bright that I swore it was real! The Sun light projected itself out of the picture, and began to project itself into the room in a perfectly parallel rectangular shape, that was exactly identical to the shape of the picture, for infinity! It was at this point in time that something clicked, and the picture became real. I saw that the hull and the ship in the picture were REAL! I could see that Jack and Rose were talking to each other, and their voices were making distant and hollow echoes. Now, what was happening in that picture was an exact mirror reflection of what was happening between Jack and Rose on the hull.  
  
I concentrated on the picture, and I could see Rose opening her eyes, and turning towards Jack. She had a smile on her face, and she said, "Jack, I feel as though I were in paradise. For the first time in my life, I feel as though I was FREE!." I noted that her voice echoed with a deep and a soft and sweet tone as she spoke. I saw that Jack leaned his face in, so that his eye gaze met hers at a 135 degree angle. His eyes shone with a very soft, yellow light. He said, in a very tender and gentle tone, "I wanted you to experience this. I wanted you to experience freedom! You've spent your entire life trapped up in cages!" He was still talking to Rose, but it was at that point in time that I felt a lump forming in my throat! I felt as though Jack had told me, "Jasmine, you've spent far too much time in cages, and trapped up in your own world. It's high time YOU escaped!" I then shook my head in disbelief. Jack's words had left quite an effect, in terms of chemical change, on my brain, even though he hadn't spoken to me! "Nooo." I heard myself saying out loud, as I rested my head on my right hand, "This can't be happening to me!" Jack continued his conversation with Rose, "I know you are a lady in waiting, and I wanted to wait for the opportune time to tell you that. I mean, I know that a divine power has brought us together. Under normal circumstances, there is no way that a commoner would meet a fine woman like you." It was at that point in time that Jack lowered his lips, and kissed the right side of Rose's neck. He continued, "I just wanted to find the best time to show you something you've never experienced before." I sensed that Rose was sighing in intense pleasure and happiness. She looked straight into Jack's eyes, and she said in her sweet and innocent voice, whose tone was so distant and far away, and echoed so much, that I thought it was coming from another dimension, "Jack, when CAN we be together. I love YOU, not Cal." Suddenly, Jack gulped, and I could sense that his eyes looked as though they were becoming frozen. I could see the look of panic creep over his face. He winced, because it felt as though cold and strong iron hands, with their freezing, ice-cold grip, and strong hold had taken a hold of his heart, and were holding it in their wake. A lump formed in Jack's throat, and he said, in a very small and dismal tone, "Rose." He was about to say, 'it wasn't meant to be.' But, determination entered his eyes, and he decided that this was how they were meant to be together, so he said, "We are together now, and we will always be together!" I smiled to myself, how ingenious!  
  
Rose felt as though she was a bird, who was finding her rightful path in life, through her spiritual guide, and her soul mate! Then, something interesting happened. Rose's and Jack's lips met, and they were Kissing! I stared in shock! I mean I knew they were good friends, but I HAD NEVER DREAMED THEY WERE LOVERS? I shook my head in disbelief, because I knew that lip kissing signified true love. Then, I could feel another jolt from the spiritual realm. I could see Rose, and Jack , in the picture, and they were looking at each other, with a golden light in their eyes, as they knew that they were soulmates. Anyway, both of them were on the hull, but then, I heard Rose say to Jack, "Jack, let's fly away." Jack smiled at her, and he said, "Ok." Then the picture lit up with a golden light, and both of them immediately developed angels wings. These wings were long, and white, and shone with a slight golden hue. First, Jack flapped his wings, and he was flying in the air. Then, he extended his index finger, on his right hand out to Rose, and smiling at her, he said, "After you, my lady." Rose smiled, and she flapped her wings. She took a hold of his right index finger, and the both of them started to fly. It was at this point in time that a very intense and powerful white light flashed over the painting. Suddenly, I could see that Jack and Rose had turned into holographic images, and both were wearing blue, body length shapeless gowns. They were flying in the air, and Rose looked straight at me, and she was smiling, as she said, "Thank you Jasmine for helping me liberate myself, now it's your turn." Jack nodded in agreement. Then, Rose blew me a kiss. Strangely enough, I noticed that the entire picture simply vanished! At that point in time, I was stunned, however, I would find it, when I retired that night, hung up on the North wall of our bunk, even though no one had hung it there!  
  
At this time, I shook my head in disbelief, and I though to myself, "What's going on here? Even I don't get it!" I found myself staring, with a desperate look into my eyes, into the spiritual eye, that is capable of looking into different dimensions. 'Well,' I thought to myself, 'Now that Jack and Rose have changed, I guess, the rest is up to history and destiny!' 


	17. Jasmine17

Ch XVII: The Awakening  
  
It was later that night that I went back to my bunk room. Much to my shock, I saw that the picture that Jack had painted earlier was hanging on the North wall! Jack, I asked, my voice reflecting curiosity, "Did you hang the painting on the wall?" Jack replied, "I did not." I thought to myself, 'If Jack did not hang the painting up on the wall, who did? Did the painting simply hang itself?'  
  
I sat down by my bed, and wrote the following entry in my diary:  
  
Rose, like the proverbial pink, or white flower  
Pretty as anything, yet understood by no one  
A spirit may have woken up in her,  
But the event was simply the awakening and nothing more  
For the poor damsel, and the poor flower, which is what she represents  
To experience freedom, she must fight the spiritual battle against evil  
Now that her soul has woken up and is stirring  
She must fight the evil, which lies in her fiancée and in society  
In order to earn the liberty she so pines for  
  
I was shaken out of my thoughts by a knock on the door. "Come in." I called out. I saw Rose, wearing the same outfit she had worn earlier today on the hull. Suddenly, Jack's eyes glowed with a golden colour, and his facial features softened. I noticed now, that Jack and Rose weren't even pretending to hide the fact that they knew they were soul mates! I shuddered to myself, in fear. I knew what neither one realized, that while, they had had a spiritually liberating experience on the hull today, no one else on the ship had shared this experience. Therefore, in real life terms, Rose was STILL trapped in her position as a 'high-society girl' and as 'Cal's fiancée.' That was what everyone on The Titanic still viewer her as. I knew it was going to take a real struggle on Rose's, Jack's, and my part to fully liberate the spirit in Rose, that had just begun to wake up.  
  
Meanwhile, Jack and Rose were completely oblivious to my thoughts. Jack said to Rose, "Do you want to come and dance the 'Irish jig' with my mates?" Rose said, "I'd be happy to." Then Jack looked at me, and said in words that were designed to penetrate my soul, "Jasmine, I think you should come too. It's high time you left your 'cage' and you came out and met people and had FUN!" I shuddered, I knew where Jack was hitting at, 'Damn, he's good at hitting the right places with his words!' I thought to myself. I said, "Sure, I'll come."  
  
Rose, Jack, and I walked down to the lower deck. Little did any of us know that Cal had had a rude spiritual awakening, at the dinner, which gave him the unsettling idea that Rose was realizing her true place in life, and that she was realizing that Jack was her soul mate. Cal was disturbed by this, because he had realized that Rose was experiencing a spiritual awakening, in which she had realized that a potent soul lay stirring in her, which, given the correct opportunity, could really upset Cal's world, and the world in which he lived. Cal could NOT live with this, therefore, HE HAD SWORN THAT HE WOULD NOT LET ROSE BE LIBERATED AT ANY COST. Cal had become quite suspicious, and had asked his close friends to act as spies, to spy on the activities of myself, Jack and Rose. His spies had seen Jack and Rose on the hull, and they described in vivid detail what happened, to Cal. Cal was quite disturbed by this, because, as far as HE was concerned, ROSE WAS HIS PROPERTY! It was for this reason, that he had instructed these spies to watch Rose at all times. Therefore, two spies were hiding behind posts, looking, watching, and waiting!  
  
Jack took Rose out into the center of the room. I could see the room clearly, and I could see that the warm yellow lights from the lanterns were lighting up the room, and making the wooden planks on the floor shine. Jack and Rose started to dance the Irish jig. I watched, and something magical happened to Rose. As she was dancing with Jack, her hair began to fly around freely with the wind. Indeed, she also had a look, which reflected sheer happiness on her face. "Ha-ha.ha-ha.ha-ha." she laughs heartily. The peals of laughter that emanate from her throat are so deep, and Earth-moving, that I swear that her soul is laughing, and not her. Jack brings Rose up on a moving turn-table, then he looks at Rose, with a gleam in his eye, and a smile on his face, as he says, "So do you really want to have some fun, and dance while this thing is turning?" Rose looks at Jack with a gleam in her eye, and she says, "Sure, my sire."  
  
Both get up on top of the turntable, and they dance away. Rose notices that, as she dances, the turntable turns around faster and faster. Jack holds both of her hands, and they dance on the opposite ends of the turntable. Rose notices that she feels as though she is flying, while she's dancing. "Ha-ha.ha-ha.ha-ha." Rose laughs heartily. I look at Rose, and by the way she's moving, she really does look as though she's flying. Then Jack looks at me, and he says, "Come up, Jasmine, come, join us!" I note that he's leaning in towards me, as he says it, and I can see the gleam in his eyes. His friends say, "Yes, Jasmine, come, dance with them." Then, "Oof." I say to myself, as Jack lifts me up onto the turntable.  
  
Initially, I am confused, and I say, "What do I do?" Rose says, "Jasmine, just leave all inhibitions behind, and dance, as though you're flying with the wind!" So, I grab Jack's hands, which are warm, and serve to warm up, and touch my soul, in ways that, even Siddharth couldn't. I gasp, as I can feel something, deep down inside of my soul stirring. I start to twirl away. Indeed, I feel as though I was flying. Rose was right, my inhibitions are falling by the wayside, as I am dancing, and I can feel a wild and uninhibited, and happy soul arising from deep within my soul. I look at Rose who is dancing away, and suddenly, I see the soul that I had initially seen and heard when I was instructed, by the superintendent, to clean Rose's quarters.  
  
Rose's soul had deep red hair that was so magical and mystical in essence that it appeared to be made of a divine substance. When I looked at her hair, it shone with such a gleam that I, immediately, lost any recollection of who I was. This soul of Rose's had skin that shone with a deep and bright golden glow. I looked into her eyes, and I saw that they were a deep blue colour. They were so deep and so mystifying that I was drawn into them, and I forgot that I was Jasmine. I noticed that the apparition was wearing a deep maroon, gown. Suddenly, I was entering a new state of existence. Rose's soul began to talk to Jack, who himself, had turned into a divine and holographic apparition of his physical self.  
  
Rose said, in a tone that was so deep and distant, that it sounded like it was an echo of a voice that was emanated from another dimension, "Jack, I know you are my guardian angel who was sent by supernatural powers to help me. Jack, you are not hearing Rose. You are hearing Electra. I am the powerful soul that resides in Rose, and I was simply pining to escape." Then, Electra turned around and looked at me, and she smiled as she said, "Jasmine, I thank you for helping to liberate me from the trap. I understand that it will take a while for me to fully liberate myself from the cages that have bound me. I also understand that you are trapped as well, and that you have been bound in cages also. Jasmine, by helping to liberate myself, you are also liberating yourself." Electra then placed her hands on mine, and it felt as though, somehow, God was touching my soul through her body. Suddenly, I could feel myself waking up in ways that I never had before. I looked around me, and The Titanic seemed to be so fake and artificial. I saw that, for this one moment, somehow, the laws of time and space and dimensions had been bent, and while our physical selves were on Earth, still trapped in our socio-economic positions in society, somehow, our souls had managed to enter into the spiritual realm. I realized that it was these experiences that were helping to liberate all of our souls, and that in the process, since the events in the physical realm are an imperfect reflection of events in the spiritual realm, a chance event would happen that would liberate us from our current social positions in the physical realm! This revelation was so ground-breaking that it served to catapult me into a new stage of understanding, 'So,' I thought to myself, 'The whole point of my meeting Rose was to try to free her spirit from its traps, and to try to empower her spirit to fight evil. In this sense, it was not enough that Rose and Jack find each other spiritually, instead, Rose and Jack must strive to fight evil, in the physical realm. In this case, the evil was Cal, and the upper class society.' I looked at Jack's apparition, and in a very distant voice that soothed my soul, Jack said, "My dear Jasmine, you are finally understanding what is going on. I am very happy for you. Somehow, I sensed, through my interactions with you, that you have not been happy yourself." He then smiled at me, and I could feel my entire soul lighting up.  
  
Well, I came out of my altered state of mind, and I saw Jack and Rose in their present physical states, and in their clothes, dancing away on the turntable. I danced with them, and suddenly, while doing so, I noticed that Jack, Rose, and I lost all of our inhibitions. Somehow, something transpired that began to heal us! Suddenly, we no longer felt as though our surroundings were smothering us as much. Also, we no longer felt as though we were obliged to bow down to everyones' wishes. It was, as though, through the dancing, we began to find a new sense of enlightenment. That was good, because boy were we, and especially Rose, going to need it!  
  
Well, night passed into day. It was the next day, and Rose was having breakfast with Cal. Cal had ordered me to serve her, and I felt quite nervous. When I saw Cal's gaze burn into my and Rose's heart, I could sense that something wasn't right! Cal had heard of Rose's dalliances with Jack, and he would have none of it! He glared at Rose, and he said, "I heard that you and that damn dock boy, along with her." He then pointed his finger straight at me, with a glare in his eyes that said, 'Jasmine, enough of this. I've had enough of this nonsense, and I WANT you to KNOCK IT OFF NOW.' I gulped, because I felt so afraid. Cal was shouting at Rose. It was then that Rose said, "You hired people to SPY on me?" She showed some signs of rebellion, because she found this to be quite off- putting. Then Cal said, "Yes" Rose said, with a glint of rebellion in her eyes, "Now look, Jack is just a friend, as Jasmine is. We'll have some fun ok, I mean it's just simple fun." Suddenly, my heart sank, and I could feel my heart beating superfast, as I could feel the sensation beginning to leave my hands and feet. I gulped, as a lump formed in my throat, 'Oh no,' I thought to myself, 'Rose's soul has awakened, and the soul, Electra, is starting to reflect through Rose's actions. She's being uppity to someone who CAN hurt her! I mean, she's not physically and spiritually liberated yet!' I realized that the incident that Jack and Rose shared on the hull may have been a curse, because it served to liberate them spiritually, however, the event left nothing in the physical world changed, therefore, physically, and even spiritually, the two were still 'trapped' in their societal positions. It was then that Cal glared at Rose. He knocked everything off of the table with such a ferocity that the noise made Rose and I jump in our skins. He said, "LOOK, YOU'RE MINE NOW. YOU WILL DO AS I SAY!" It was then that I screamed in pain. Cal had just dumped scalding hot tea on my right hand, and it hurt. Then he looked at me, "Look, you brown monkey. I've had enough of this. You lay off of my lady!" Then he slapped me across the right cheek. It was then that he got up, and stormed off.  
  
I used the soul centrering techniques to heal the burn wounds on my right hand. Rose looked startled and disheveled. Rose said, "Uh.Jasmine, will you help me clean?" Then Rose looked at me, her deep blue eyes pleading, as she said, "Jasmine, I don't understand, I THOUGHT I was liberated, and wouldn't have to face Cal anymore. I mean, I thought Jack and I were meant to be, but I guess not." It was then that tears streamed down Rose's face, and she began to cry. Her sad face broke my heart, because I had no idea how to react to her situation. I placed my right hand on her right shoulder, and I began to firmly and gently rub it. I said, "Go now, I'll clean." Rose looked at me with a sincere look in her eyes, that reflected that she understood. She then got up and left.  
  
However, all was not well. Cal had, angrily, told Ruth what had happened, and Ruth did not approve. Later on in the day, while Ruth was stringing up Rose with her corset, she talked to her daughter. Ruth said, "I heard about what happened." Rose said, "Mom, Cal is, well, I'm not happy with him." Then Ruth pulled in Rose's corset so tight that Rose gasped in pain. Ruth's voice became quite steely and she said, "Rose, I don't understand you. I mean it's just a marriage of convenience. It's not as though you HAVE to love him." Then she looked deep into Rose's eyes, with her mild brown eyes, as she said, "Rose honey. You know the money's gone." Rose gasped, she thought to herself, 'how many times have we gone over this?' Rose replied, "Yes, I know that the money's gone." Ruth said, as she looked at Rose with a pleading look in her eyes, "Rose, honey, you know that when your father died, he left us with no money and a lot of bad debts. All we have left now is a good name. I mean, if Cal knew we were broke, he'd turn us out immediately, and make us the laughing stock of society. I can't live with that. I mean, if you DON'T marry him, then when we land dock in New York, our financial situation will be revealed. We'll become the laughing stock of OUR OWN SOCIAL CLASS." Then her eyes really began to plead as she looked at Rose, "Do you want our fine things auctioned off. Do you want ME to work as a seamstress in San Francisco. Do you want to marry a pauper and become the laughing stock of society? That will happen if YOU DON'T MARRY CAL. I mean, you marry him, and ALL of our debts will be taken care of. It'll look to others AS THOUGH NOTHING EVER HAPPENED. As for happiness, what is HAPPINESS. A woman doesn't get married for HAPPINESS, she does it because it's HER DUTY IN LIFE." Ruth sighed to herself, quite shallowly, and quite emptily, as she said, "Rose, honey, our feelings don't matter. We women are simply the pawns and objects of the societies that we come from. As for marrying for LOVE? Well, Is there SUCH A THING. I mean I was married to your father for 18 years, and I NEVER loved him one day in my life! I mean, life's not fair, and you just have to live with that. After a while, life becomes a skit that you learn to play out if you want to survive." Rose winced, because these words hurt her soul. She knew her mother meant well, but she couldn't believe it! Her mother cared more about material well being and what other people though about her, than she did about spiritual happiness!  
  
Rose looked into her mother's eyes, and she realized that her mother really was in a different realm than her. Rose realized that the spiritual experience had been for her and Jack, and Jasmine alone! No one else had been affected by the experience. Rose realized that she was still trapped in her current situation on Earth, as Rose DeWitt-Bukater on The Titanic, and that she REALLY was going to be married to Cal. The thought of that made her shudder! She felt so vacant and shocked when she realized this. For the first time in her life, she thought, 'life's a bitch! Just when you think you've got it figured out, it throws you curveballs!' Rose felt so confused and so angry. On the one hand, she KNEW that this wasn't her true destiny in life, and on the other, she had no idea how to reach her true path in life! She began to cry bitterly, and she just stormed out of the room.  
  
Well, little did Rose know that the process of spiritual liberation is a drawn out one. It takes a while to really liberate a soul, and the process occurs in steps. She did not realize, that soon, the ship would be beset with a tragedy that would change her, Jack's and Jasmine's lives forever! She did not realize that she would never wed Cal, and that after the tragic event, she would NEVER see him AGAIN! 


	18. Jasmine18

Chapter 18: Jack Paints Rose  
  
It was late in the afternoon, and Rose had summoned Jack to come to her room with her. Rose sighed, in grief and disappointment, as she told Jack, "Don't worry, Cal won't be here for a while, he's always downstairs talking politics with the other guys, until the brandy and the cigars run out!" She rolled her eyes up in frustration as she said this. Then, she assumed a scandalous gleam in her eyes, and she produced a beautiful blue velvet box. She carefully opened the box for Jack, and Jack gasped, because she was holding the Hope diamond necklace that he had seen her wear earlier! Jack said, "Gee, it looks nice!" Personally, he was quite enthralled by the necklace, because though, he swore it had supernatural powers, and though he swore that its prime aim was to possess anyone who looked at it, he was still captivated by its sheer beauty and inner charm!  
  
It was then that Rose assumed a scandalous gleam in her eyes and a scandalous tone of mischief in her voice, as she said, "Jack, I've seen your paintings before, and I know you're a good painter, but how about painting a portrait of me, lying down on the bed wearing nothing but this?" It was then that she shook the necklace in front of Jack's face, to indicate to him that she wished him to paint her wearing the necklace. Jack's voice reflected the shock that he was feeling, as he said, "Nooo.ooo Rose, I COULDN'T DO THAT!" Rose looked at Jack with innocence, and her voice reflected an innocent tone as she said, "Why not, it'd be fun!" Jack relented, and he said, "Allright."  
  
Well, it was then that Rose got undressed, and she clasped the necklace on her neck. She then lay down on the bed, and looked at Jack with a sexy and 'come hither' look in her eyes. Jack had poised an easel, which he had managed to grab from one of the other rooms, while Rose was changing, and he had his painting supplies, which he had hastily grabbed from his bunk bed. Jack proceeded to prepare the sketch, and then he proceeded to paint Rose.  
  
Jack had never painted anyone naked before, much less a woman! But Jack became captivated by Rose's sheer sexuality, sensuality, and beauty as he began to capture her contours and the hues of her skin colour, and the different aspects of her body, and the hues of her hair colour on canvas. It dawned on Jack that Rose had hidden beauty, and her body reminded him of the paintings of Minerva, and of other very beautiful women who had been associated with mythology. While he was painting Rose, he was reminded of a very delicate nymph, something that was so tantalizing, and teasing, and so beautiful, and sexy, it seemed to be almost dreamy like. It seemed to be so near to your grasp, until you got so close-up to it you swore you could touch it, but then something happened, and as quickly and closely as it had come to you, it disappeared, leaving you with nothing but sweet memories, and an emotional experience that felt like an orgasm. Jack shook his head, smiling as he did so, boy, he would NEVER forget this experience, as LONG as he lived!  
  
Rose felt as though she was free and she was floating on air. She felt as though she was, finally, liberated from the entrapments of the upper classes. She could feel her beauty exhuding from the pores of her body. She felt as though she was one of the women who used to pose naked for statues and sculptures in the Ancient world. She felt that she was feeling an experience that few women in her class had the guts to experience, and it was totally opening her mind, in terms of world view.  
  
Jack finished, and he said, "Here's the painting, how do you like it?" Rose rose up from the bed, and she looked at the picture, she was taken a back by it. She gasped, "Why, Jack, you're a natural Da Vinci.I LOVE it, it's beautiful!" Then she giggled to herself, and she kissed him on the cheek. Jack smiled in approval, and he could feel the center part of his left cheek glowing with warmth, which was where Rose had kissed him. Rose went back to her closet to change, but Jack asked her, "Where do you want me to put the picture, I take it your fiancée would have a fit if he saw it." Rose responded, hang it in the little closet on the wall. "Ok." Jack said, his voice trailing. He opened the velvet covered door to the closet, and he put the picture in the closet so that the back of the painting faced the back of the wall.  
  
Rose came out wearing a plain long dress with a white background, and multi- coloured flowers on it. Jack noticed that the dress was made out of synthetic satin, instead of real satin. "What now?" Jack asked. "Follow me," said Rose. Jack held Rose's hand and followed her until they had reached an obscure part of the ship. It was then, to Jack's confusion that the two of them had piled up in the front seat of a Model-T. Rose could see the confusion on Jack's face as he said, "So, what do we do here?" It was then that Rose leaned her lips in towards Jacks, and she proceeded to kiss Jack on the lips. Jack took the cues. Rose then said, put your hand here, and she moved Jack's right hand on her left breast. Well, it wasn't long before the two of them were having sex.  
  
Well, the two of them may have been star-struck lovers, however, Cal's two 'spies' were lurking around the obscure part of the ship where Rose and Jack were. Had it not been for Rose's sweaty hand, which was pressed against a mirror, they would never have suspected that Jack and Rose were copulating. They cried out, "Get them!" It was then that Jack and Rose sprung up, and Rose grabbed her dress and put it on as fast as she could. The spies played a game of 'cat chases mice' when it came to catching Jack and Rose, however, Jack and Rose, were, somehow, able to miss the gaze of the men.  
  
Jack and Rose made it up to the front of the ship, where they could see the ship approaching an iceberg at an odd angle. Rose became afraid, and she told the captain, "If I didn't know any better, I would swear that the ship was going to hit the iceberg." The captain said, "Shut up stupid lady, I know what I am doing." Well, a few minutes later, all on the front deck heard a colossal grinding noise, which sounded as though the iceberg was cutting into the side of the ship, cutting into metal in the process. It was then that the captain looked at Rose with a devastated look in his eyes. Rose said, "I know it, I can see it in your eyes, it's an iceberg, it's hit the side of The Titanic, Right?" Rose was crying out in panic as she said this, the captain slowly nodded in shame and shock. Rose said to Jack, "We've got to tell Cal!" Jack gulped, he didn't much care for Cal, and the last thing he wanted to do was confront that BASTARD! He would rather forget about the guy, and escape with Rose. However, he could see from the look in Rose's eyes that Rose wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer, so he, relented.  
  
Meanwhile, the 'spies' had shown the picture of Rose lying naked on the bed to Cal, and boy was Cal seeing red! It was just then that Rose and Jack walked into the room. And as they did so, one of the spies dropped the Hope Diamond necklace into the Jack's coat pocket. "Well, well," Cal replied, with a look of anger in his eyes, "what have we here?" Jack felt nervous, because he didn't want to confront Cal about anything, and he felt that Rose was entering into a lion's den by confronting Cal. Jack gulped nervously. However, Rose told Cal, "The Titanic has run into an iceberg, it's only a matter of time before it sinks, you'd best escape." Rose told this to Cal in a matter of fact way, instead of the meek and docile way that he had expected. Rose was treating Cal as an equal, instead of an unequivocal master, and CAL COULD NOT TAKE THIS. Cal simply slapped Rose across the face so hard she almost fell backwards. This gesture made Jack's face burn with anger, he could feel his cheeks turn red. From his standpoint, Rose may have been Cal's fiancée, but that GAVE CAL NO RIGHT TO TREAT ROSE LIKE TRASH!  
  
Rose continued, "Jack and I are going alone, you'd better escape solo." Well this was the straw that broke the camel's back for Cal so to speak. He couldn't take what was happening, and from his standpoint, there was no way his WOMAN was going to escape with another man! Cal roared in anger, and suddenly, Jack and Rose were shocked to see that Cal's eyes became possessed with a look of anger and evil. He grabbed a gun, which was laying on the dresser drawer, and aimed it at Jack. He then squeezed the trigger. Jack looked quite nervous, and Rose shot Jack a nervous look from the corner of her eye, as she said, "Come on, Jack, let's run!" The two of them played a game of "cat and mouse" as they escaped the bullets that were being fired from Cal's gun. In this game, they were the mice, and Cal was the cat, intent on killing them both, and especially, Jack. Cal was a good shooter, and it was simply Jack's ability to run, and outmanouver Cal, which was saving him from getting hit. However, as they were running from Cal, both of them were flooded with a rush of emotions. Both of them were afraid that they may not live, however, at the same time, both of them were feeling a sense of relief that they were escaping from tyranny, which represented Cal, and The Titanic, both of them were thinking, 'my god, the sinking of The Titanic represents a chance for both of us to escape our present dreary lots, and to start life over a new.' Well, that experience for them caused 'their lives to flash right before their eyes', so to speak.  
  
Eventually, Cal's gun ran out of bullets, and then Jack and Rose realized they were alone. They were in the ballroom, on the second floor, however, when both of them saw the water furiously rushing up right below them, they realized they didn't have a moment to lose. Jack said, with a sense of urgency in his voice, "Come on, we have to move!" However, Rose felt a sense of pain and emptiness in her heart that Jasmine was not with her at this moment. Rose said, "Jack.what about Jasmine?" Jack noticed that Rose's words pierced his soul. Jack looked at Rose in a matter of fact way and he said, "Don't worry about Jasmine right now, she knows how to take care of herself, worry about saving yourself and me!"  
  
Jack looked at the water that was rushing up towards them and he thought to himself, 'Boy, we may have gotten rid of one worry, Cal, but now, we got a bigger worry on our hands!"  
  
Jack had been right, he and Rose should be concerned about saving their own lives. Much to their surprise, Jack and Rose would meet Jasmine when they had managed to escape from the ship, and all would find liberation in their own ways. 


	19. Jasmine19

Chapter XVIIII: The Escape, and the New Beginning  
  
By now, the water was rising up to the upper hallway of the ballroom, which was where Rose and Jack were. Jack was panicking, and Rose could see the panic reflecting in Jack's blue eyes. Rose was at a loss, "What do we do now, Jack?" She asked, her voice reflecting panic. Jack looked up, and he eyed the crystal chandelier which was right above him. He thought, I swear, I can ALMOST reach this with his hand. He extended his hand upwards, and sure enough, it was touching the top of the chandelier. "Come on Rose." he called out, he grabbed Rose's left hand with his right. Then he grabbed the pole of the chandelier, as he stretched his hand. He felt quite nervous, because he wasn't sure if he could pull himself and Rose up on the chandelier. But he breathed hard, and suddenly, he felt a rush of adrenaline pumping through him, and suddenly, he felt like Superman, as he felt a surge of superstrength and super energy flow through his body, and he immediately pulled himself and Rose up on the chandelier.  
  
Rose gasped as she watched the water rushing up to them. She had seen water before, but not like this! She closed her eyes, and shook her head in disbelief. She gasped in helplessness, as she could feel the coldness of the water waift up, and chill her. The ocean she had seen had been quite calm and placid, the water that was raging up below them was furious and appeared to have strength and energy of its own. It appeared to have its own soul, and a mind of its own. It appeared to be reverting back to its innate nature of wildness, and appeared to be angry that it had been subdued by The Titanic, and by modern science. The raging water below Rose, appeared to be vengeful at humans for controlling its nature, and appeared to be extracting its revenge by showing itself in its true form to Rose. Rose thought to herself, in a reaction to her observation, Please God, let me live, and I'll respect nature for AS LONG AS I LIVE!  
  
Rose and Jack were quickly and silently moving across the ceiling of the ball room, they were grabbing extensions from the ceiling while doing so. Rose was stunned by what was going on. Earlier, The Titanic appeared to be an unnatural and supernatural behemoth. It appeared to have a strength and ingeneuity that was bequeathed to it by the wonders of modern science and engineering. Earlier, it had sailed with proudness and arrogance across the Atlantic Ocean, as if to say, "I am stronger and more superior to you, I am able to conquer and tame you." The Titanic had after all, been dubbed, 'the unsinkable ship'. Rose, however, realized that this was a farce, because Rose was seeing that The Titanic was indeed vulnerable, because it was sinking under its own weight. Rose realized that the very engineering feats that were designed to make it 'unsinkable' were now sinking it. Rose realized that The Titanic was falling victim to its own strength. This was indeed defeating the claim that modern science, and modern man could conquer nature, which was a phrase that she had heard leaders and scientists claim constantly. The Titanic would leave a permanent scar on the world, most notably the West, and would seriously shake the West's confidence to 'conquer nature through science.'  
  
Jack said, "Come on Rose, hurry up." No sooner than Rose and Jack had escaped from the ball room than they opened the door, and they saw a huge column of ice cold water greet them. Jack said, "Well, I guess we have to swim." Rose and Jack froze in the water as they swum. Jack strained his eyes as he scanned the ceiling for a place to rest on, they couldn't swim in freezing water, while holding their breath, forever. Jack and Rose eventually came to rest on a rail, and they place their hands on the railing, while swimming out of the room. "Jack.J-J-J-ack." Rose shivered, her teeth clattering, "I'm SOO cold!" Jack said, "Come on, don't give up now!" Jack and Rose finally made it to the door. They opened the door, and existed out through it.  
  
They were up on the deck of the ship, where they were witnessing true mayhem. People were in a panic. Indeed, the superficial order had given way, and people were abandoning their practices of self-restraint, and everyone was truly out for him or herself, this was especially true of the upper classes. The engineers may have prided themselves on their 'ingenious design of the ship', but apparently, they hadn't counted on it sinking, because they hadn't designed enough life boats for the ship. The lower classes had realized that the ship was going down, and everyone, lower, middle, and upper classes, was making a frantic scramble for the boats, which they realized would be their only way of surviving. However, the ship's crew were shouting out, "Women and children only.women and children only." The ship's crew was also making it clear that the upper class people would get the first priority on the boats. Rose noted that there weren't enough boats, and she said, "Captain, there aren't enough boats what are you going to do?" The captain was too distraught to answer. He appeared to be entering a state of delirium, and moments later, shot himself in the mouth with a pistol, thus killing himself.  
  
Jack said, "Come on Rose." However, they were stopped by a crew member. The crew member didn't see Jack and Rose as lovers and lady and gentleman. He saw Jack as a grubby lower class man who was trying to escape with a high society woman. He let Rose into the life boat, but he stopped Jack, he said, "You can't come." The life boat that Rose was in was being extended out to slightly beyond the deck of the ship, however, when Rose saw that Jack wasn't coming with her, she immediately stepped out of the ship. Jack looked at her in shock as he said, "ROSE!" But Rose fiercely retorted, "Jack, if you aren't coming with you, then I'll die with you and we can both go up to heaven together!" Jack was quite touched by her comment, and he said, "Oh Rose!" Then he pecked her on the lips, and smiled.  
  
The other upper class people, including Cal, however, were quite keen to escape. Cal, by now had completely forgotten about Rose and Jack. However, he found himself in quite a quandary, because, he wanted to escape, but couldn't because he wasn't a woman or a child. He, immediately, spotted a crying young girl, and a look of feigned concern appeared over his face. He picked up the child, and held her as though she was his daughter. He then looked at the crew member and said, "Can I take my child with me?" He was smiling at the man as he said this, and the man smiled, and nodded his head. Cal was quickly on the boat, and while there, he immediately forgot about the child.  
  
Ruth, and the other upper class women were also scrambling to get off of the ship. The crew members were frantically trying to dictate their entry onto the life boats. Ruth was a little concerned about Rose's welfare, after all, she hadn't seen her daughter for a day, but her concern for her own life overshadowed her concern for the welfare of her daughter. Rose thought to herself, this thought relieving the guilt she was feeling that she was neglecting her daughter's welfare, Oh well, I'm sure Rose is on one of the life boats, I'll probably meet her in New York! Ruth was smiling as she said this. However, it turned out that all of the ladies would not fit on one life boat, so some of the ladies had to be accommodated on other life boats. Then, the life boats were lowered into the water. Once in the water, the ladies on Ruth's life boat, including Ruth herself were totally lost. All of their life, they had been acting as high society ladies, and had not a clue as to how to survive. They curiously looked at the oars, and Ruth said, "I guess we row with these." A feeling of disgust shot through her body, because she realized that that was labourers' work, and she was above that! Mrs. Jones said, "I don't want to row!" It was at that point in time that an older and hardened matron said, "Shut up and row, all of you!" The ladies did as told.  
  
Rose was looking at her mother in the life boat, and she sighed in disillusion, she thought My mother doesn't even care about me! Rose could feel her heart sinking with the boat, as she realized that her life and the order that her life had assumed was falling apart with the ship. Rose could see the false order that had held her life together, and had surrounded her falling apart all around her. She could see this in the way that people were being assigned to the life boats. There was absolutely no rhyme or reason to the assignments. Instead, the assignments reflected the harried and frantic nature of the crew members who had no idea how to handle a catastrophe. Some boats were lowered into the water empty. Rose thought to herself sarcastically, "well, when there's a shortage of life boats to begin with, that is an unwise move!" Other boats either had one person on them, or had a few, and some boats were stuffed to overcapacity, so that they began to capsize in the water. The people on the overstuffed boats had a cruel way of dealing with this overcapacity, they mercilessly shoved some of the people out of the boats and into the water, against their will. The people who were shoved into the water would die there, and they knew it, but the people in the boats were too concerned with their own welfare to care. From their narrow and selfish standpoints, they were thinking, "Well, I'm glad I'm not the one who's going to die, let some one else die, I want to live!" It didn't stop there. In the boats where there were too few people, the members were bickering amongst themselves as to who was going to row, and how. Not only that, but in these life boats, none of the people appeared to be willing to do the team work necessary to do the rowing to ensure that the people on the boats would row to safety. Sometimes, some of the people who had been shoved off of the boats frantically clung to the side of these boats and were yelling, "You have overcapacity, could you let me aboard?" The people on the boats dealt with these people by using their oars to drown them literally. They saw these people as filthy boarders who were trying to do them in. Rose could see that the ship had split into two, and that one part of the ship was capsizing into the water. The upper class people on the part of the boat that was capsizing did not want to fall to their death into the water, but the force of gravity was forcing them towards the water. They held onto the rail in an attempt to cling on to life. However, the rail was icy, and many fell to their deaths into the water. Rose went over to look at them, and she saw, that for all of their money and status, their true and vulnerable nature was reflecting on the panicked and scared looks on their faces. Rose could see that the face is truly an expression of the soul, as their faces were reflecting their nervous and scared selves. Somehow, Rose could see that these people knew that they had lead false, and sinful lives, which were full of greed, and that they were going to meet their maker, and would have to recount for their deeds and their nature to their maker. It would be at that point in time that they would be naked in front of the supreme one, and that they would have to recount for their deeds with their souls. Rose smiled and thought to herself, justice IS delivered!  
  
The lower class people could see that the ship was sinking, and they wanted off of the ship as well, however, the crew members were stopping them. Rose's heart sunk, because she knew that the only thing that was keeping these people from surviving was their social status, which Rose had come to realize was superficial, to begin with. The lower class people were saying, "Please, let me aboard the life boats!" The crew members responded by firing bullets into the thickening ranks of the lower classes, killing quite a few in the process. Some of the lower class people were bold, and muscled their way to the boats, and some of them were over powering the crew members, by allowing their compadres to lower the boats into the water.  
  
Rose sighed because she knew that there were more lower class people who were trying to escape, but couldn't. She was right about this. She did not know it, but the doors to the third deck were locked, so that the lower class people were literally locked into their rooms to die. Some of the lower class people were crowding around the doors, frantically trying to open them, but to no avail! Others simply resigned, and some mothers had left their fate, as well as the fates of their children in the hands of God, and were reading bed time stories to their children, who were in bed, pretending as though nothing had happened, and they would wake up the next morning as ususal. Well, they would wake up the next morning, but not as humans!  
  
Rose looked down into the water, and she saw that her mother, and the other ladies, who were on the life boat were rowing like frantic chickens, literally! Rose could see that these women hadn't the slightest clue as to how to row to safety, and neither did anyone else who was in the life boat. These women were simply frantically rowing, as were the other people, well, when they weren't bickering with each other, hoping that divine intervention would happen, and they would magically be rescued! It wouldn't happen thought Rose, these people would simply row and row, waiting to be rescued, waiting for something, waiting for death! Rose looked down at the people in the life boats, and she thought to herself boy am I glad I climbed off of the life boat. These people aren't human, they're demons. They haven't the slightest bit of humanity or compassion for anyone else, and they only think about themselves, even when their own survival might depend on teamwork, and caring about the welfare of others! Then it dawned on her, Boy, I'm glad I met Jack! In our short time together, he and Jasmine have taught me that compassion, caring, happiness, self-respect, and respect for others, and other humane things are the most important things in life! She breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
Rose looked around her, and she could see that other upper class people were unsuccessfully clinging to the deck of the ship for sheer life. However, the overwhelming force of gravity triumphed, and the people were forcefully rendered to their watery graves. Rose could hear them screaming, and she could see the look of fear on their faces, as they realized that their time had come. Rose could see, by the look of sheer fright on their faces that they knew that they had eventually reached the end, and would soon pass to the other side, the spiritual realm, where they would meet their creator, and would be stripped of all of their false high social status, which included, rank, title, money, created social recognition, which they had forced on the rest of an unwilling society. They had used America's corrupt and unruly, and premature capitalist system to procure wealth through illegal and unethical means. They were the robber barons and the captians of industry in American society, who profited off of the blood of others. They had taken advantage of the system to procure their money. Then they had gotten drunk off of the status and the advantages that wealth offered them, and they had tweaked the system to ensure that they would stay on top. They had realized that it's nice to live lives of leisure, even if that means breaking the backs of those below you, and ignoring them. However, the working classes had been unwillingly supporting them, as the working classes felt this burden literally forced on their backs. Rose smiled, as she thought to herself, Well.it's PAYBACK time! What comes around, goes around!  
  
Rose realized that she didn't belong in such a fake society. She thought, such a society is no society at all. I am seeing, right now, that the order in this society is disintegrating into its true form, which is CHAOS, and MAYHEM. It was chaos and mayhem, all along. However, it managed to be disguised as order, so that it could function, however incoherently and dysfunctionally! I don't belong in such a society, and I never did, I WANT TO ESCAPE!  
  
She would get her chance. Jack grabbed her hand and said, "There are no more life boats, and we CAN'T stay on this ship forever, we have to jump now!" Rose's eyes widened as she looked at the water below, which reminded her of an unforgiving and watery chasm and grave, she said, "JUMP INTO THAT!" She didn't have time to say anything else, because, at that moment, Jack grabbed her hand, and both of them sprung off of the deck of the ship. Rose flashed back memories of her trying to commit suicide by jumping off of the deck, and Jack saving her. That had been her first spiritual experience. Then, Jack and Rose had had another spiritual experience on the deck of the ship, when they had held each other by the bow! Now, they were jumping to freedom off of the deck of the ship! Rose thought to herself, the deck must be spiritual! Then thud! Their bodies hit the water with a powerful force. The force hurt Rose's body, and she immediately began to shiver.  
  
Jack found a piece of plank, and he moved it under Rose's body, he said, "here, rest on this!" Rose did as she was told. Rose said, "Jack! Get on it!" But alas, the plank was only large enough to support Rose, and there wasn't a life boat around. Additionally, the last of The Titanic was sinking into its watery grave, and Rose gulped as she saw the last of the lights on the ship begin to go out. She strained her neck and her eyes for sight of her room. Suddenly, she was accosted by a flashback of her lighted room, and she shook her head in shock. She was shivering, and she clattered her teeth. She saw that Jack was shivering even more, she said, "Jack, please don't go!" It was too late, Jack's body was freezing, and beginning to go into shock, which is the first stages of the deadly hypothermia. Something told Rose that Jack wouldn't live to see the next morning. Jack put his hands on hers, and somehow, Rose could feel a warmth emanate from his hands into hers, and the gaze from Jack's eyes pierced hers with an intensity. Jack said, "Look Rose, you're going to be free.FREE, you hear me? You'll die in a nice bed, you'll never know poverty or despair. You're going to live a happy life, and you'll do what you want. You'll live life on your own terms. For me, it's been an experience just to meet you. Jasmine was right, you are a special lady! I mean.I mean, it's been a treat just to fall in love with you." Then he looked at Rose with a look of sincerity and true love in his eyes, Rose whispered, "Jack.I love you.' Jack responded, "I love you too, Rose." It was then that the cold was really getting to Jack, and Rose could see that the life was being snuffed out of Jack, somehow, the cold water was crushing Jack's soul. Rose could see that Jack's soul wasn't strong enough to brave the water. Rose could feel the water choking her soul, but somehow, something in her was keeping the water from snuffing her life out.  
  
It was late at night, and the water was full of bodies, dead bodies, and life boats with life less people in them. Rose woke up, and she touched Jack's cold and limp hand, which was lying on her plank. He's dead! Rose could see the light from a boat, and she called out to it, "I'm here, I'm here!" The light from the boat illuminated the water, and the crew on the boat could see life boats and people in the water. It was on the other boat that a crew member told the pilot, "Hey, wait a minute, I think that this is the course The Titanic was traversing!" The captain said, "But there's no ship here!" Then a dumbfounded look came over the captain's face as he said, "Don't' tell me IT SUNK!" The crew member said, "Well, there's only one way to find out, go look!" So the crew shone the light more intensely over the surrounding water, and sure enough, they saw bodies, and in disbelief, they surmised that the unsinkable ship had SUNK!  
  
Rose sighed relief when she saw the ship coming her way, she screamed, "I'm here, I'm here!" Well, the ship came close to her, and the crew members got off and rescued her, as well as the other surviving members. They sailed to New York.  
  
In New York, Rose got off at the Statue of Liberty. She sighed in relief, she was in America, the promised land, she remembered the phrase, "give me your tired and your hungry, and your restless." America was a place where people started all over again. They left their old lives, and their old nations behind, and became NEW PEOPLE! Into the melting pot goes in a Prussian, a German, an Englishman, a Frenchman, and out comes an American! She would go through the same process. She looked at the Lady holding the torch of liberty, and all of a sudden, she felt free, she thought to herself, "I'm FREE AT LAST!" When she got off of the ship, she reached into her coat pocket, and she pulled out the Hope necklace. She blanked out, and she completely forgot about Cal, she thought, why, this was the necklace that Jack gave me! One of the crew members said, "Madam, what is your name?" Rose replied, "Rose Dawson!" Well, she felt as though she had married Jack, somehow.  
  
Rose was walking around, feeling quite relieved that she could start over again. Meanwhile, Jasmine was watching her, from her invisible place in the fabric of time. Jasmine was relieved that Rose had finally found freedom, Jasmine thought to herself, Well, now Rose will GET TO DO WHAT SHE WANTS! She's really come a long way from the day I initially set eyes on her, and I think she's matured to the point where she will be able to make the right decisions!  
  
Several years later, Jasmine met Rose. The year was 1995, and Rose was on a ship, which was trying to find the remains of The Titanic. Jasmine asked Rose, "So how did your life turn out?" Rose jumped up and said, 'Oh, thank you so much. I mean, you don't understand, I remained single, and I LOVED it! I flew, I rode horses, and I did what I wanted!" Jasmine said, "Well that's good!" Later Rose went to sleep, and she had an out of body experience. Suddenly, she could see herself as Rose, the 17 year old, walking up the stairway. When she got up to the top of the stairway, she saw Jack there, and Jack was smiling, he said, "Welcome to heaven dear!"  
  
THE END! 


End file.
